Snehal khanna Blog

Samsung needs to show it has the hardware and software chops to maintain its leadership in the Android market LATEST NEWS:  When Microsoft revealed a replacement to Windows 8, it skipped the number 9 and went straight to Windows 10. Apple’s iPhone 8 was followed by the iPhone X (pronounced “ten”). But Samsung refused to follow: The successor to its Galaxy S8 is the Galaxy S9 (and a larger S9 Plus), and it’s coming out in March. The phone is critical for the company. Samsung needs to show it has the hardware and software chops to maintain its leadership in the Android market, while proving Apple isn’t king of smartphone design. Then there’s fending off rising Chinese competition from Huawei and reassuring investors that Vice Chairman Jay Y. Lee has the company’s future under control since his legal woes commanded global headlines. But above all, Samsung needs to be better than the iPhone X in the eyes of consumers. Here’s how they compare. Photography and Video Grea...

Macs and iOS devices are vulnerable to Spectre attacks through code that can run in web browsers LATEST NEWS :  Apple Inc will release a patch for the Safari web browser on its iPhones, iPads and Macs within days, it said on Thursday, after major chipmakers disclosed flaws that leave nearly every modern computing device vulnerable to hackers. On Wednesday, Alphabet Inc's Google and other security researchers disclosed two major chip flaws, one called Meltdown affecting only Intel Corp chips and one called Spectre affecting nearly all computer chips made in the last decade. The news sparked a sell-off in Intel's stock as investors tried to gauge the costs to the chipmaker. In a statement on its website, Apple said all Mac and iOS devices are affected by both Meltdown and Spectre. But the most recent operating system updates for Mac computers, Apple TVs, iPhones and iPads protect users against the Meltdown attack and do not slow down the devices, it added, an...

Earlier this week, Apple apologised for slowing down users' iPhones without their knowledge LATEST NEWS  :Samsung and LG, two of the biggest smartphone manufacturers, on Saturday claimed they do not slow down phones with old batteries - a practice which Apple admitted to using in iPhones to prevent them from unexpected shutdowns. "Product quality has been and will always be Samsung Mobile's top priority. "We ensure extended battery life through multi-layer safety measures, which include software algorithms that govern the battery charging current and charging duration," Samsung was quoted as saying by PhoneArena. "We do not reduce CPU performance through software updates over the lifecycles of the phone," the company added. Echoing a similar stament, LG committed it "will never" slow down its smartphones. Taiwanese tech major HTC and Lenovo-owned Motorola also confirmed on Thursday that they were not slowing down...

The iPhone launches raise the seemingly obvious question: What sane person would queue overnight for an over-priced, at best incrementally-changed gadget LATEST NEWS :   Apple’s special edition iPhone X release – like the new iPhones before it – brings thousands of people lining up in front of Apple stores around the globe. It raises the seemingly obvious question: what sane person would queue overnight for an over-priced, at best incrementally-changed gadget? But what sounds like a question for psychologists, may actually be better addressed as a matter of the way media and markets work. You’d be forgiven for expecting this article to be a rant about the blatant consumerism of the people that stand in line – many overnight – to get the latest iPhone. Or against the world’s obsession with smartphones more generally. After ten years of extensive media coverage of each launch, we’ve all grown used to the clichéd pictures of “die-hard fans” queuing outside Ap...

Apple and Qualcomm have been fighting each other over patent licensing LATEST NEWS    :  Apple is designing iPads and iPhones for 2018 that do not use components from Qualcomm amid an escalating dispute between the companies, according to a person familiar with the matter. The product plans are in the early stages and may still change, said the person, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. Apple may use modem chips from Intel and MediaTek instead of Qualcomm’s, the person said. Apple made the decision amid a dispute over the iPhone maker’s access to the San Diego-based company’s proprietary technology, said people familiar with the matter. Shares of Qualcomm were down 4 per cent at 5:55 am in New York. Apple and Qualcomm have been fighting each other over patent licensing with the iPhone maker accusing the chip designer of abusing its market dominance with high royalties. Qualcomm has fought back and is seeking to stop Apple from...

Hinglish borrows parts of both languages, including the grammar LATEST NEWS : The US e-commerce firm is beginning to ship Echo speakers in India this week, about a year after bringing them to foreign markets like the UK and Germany. In that time, teams of linguists, speech scientists, developers, and engineers have given a decidedly local makeover to the Alexa virtual assistant that powers the speakers. This Alexa uses a blend of Hindi and English and speaks with an unmistakably Indian accent. She knows Independence Day is August 15th, not July 4th, and wishes listeners “Happy Diwali and a prosperous New Year!” She also refers to the living room as ‘drawing room’ and can add jeera (cumin), haldi (turmeric) and atta (flour) to your shopping list. Then there are her cricket jokes. (Don’t ask.) “We wanted our devices to talk, walk and feel Indian,” said Parag Gupta, head of product management for Amazon Devices in India. “Alexa is not a visiting American, she has a very Indi...

Indian smartphone users have reiterated that lack of innovation stopped them from buying iPhone8 and 8Plus LATEST NEWS : Samsung Galaxy Note8 that came to India last month and saw over 250,000 registrations within no time is selling like hot cakes and has left Apple iPhone 8 and 8 Plus behind in the race at the moment, industry sources said on Wednesday. According to dealers, Galaxy Note8 sales are ahead when compared to iPhone8 and 8 Plus. "For every 100 Galaxy Note8 being purchased, 60-70 iPhone8 and iPhone 8 Plus are being sold," a south Delhi-based dealer told IANS on the condition of anonymity. According to Tarun Pathak, Associate Director, Mobile Devices and Ecosystems, Counterpoint Research, the fight between Note8 and IPhone8 is finally going to be pretty close. "We are looking at a neck-to-neck fight. What changes iPhone X will make to the scenario is yet to be seen but at the moment, Note8 is doing good in India and Apple users are ...

The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus will go on sale starting September 29 at 6 PM onwards through offline retailers and online e-commerce platforms LATYEST NEWS :  Apple has updated its marketing and sales strategy to make an impact in India, the world’s third largest mobile phone market after China and the US. The iPhones shipment used to reach Indian shores after a huge time gap and the actual sales of devices used to start even later. This time, the new iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus will launch in India just a week after the US launch. The premium iPhone X will be rolled out in India along with the international roll out. What else has changed is the launch timings. The new iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus will go on sale starting September 29 at 6 PM, unlike the previous iPhone launches that used to go on sale at midnight in India. Apart from online sales through e-commerce platforms, the new iPhones will be available for purchase through offline retail stores and the sale...

Promoter Harrow Investment Holding Ltd exited the company by selling its shares on July 5 and July 6 LATEST NEWS : Redington (India), a supply chain solutions provider for information technology (IT) and non-IT products and a major distributor of Apple products in the country, has said that growth in the non- Apple smartphone distribution business has started contributing to its mobility business significantly. Harrow Investment Holding Ltd, the promoter of the company, has exited from the company by selling its shares on July 5 and 6 through the open market. The company is also in the process of diversifying into new businesses such as solar energy and health & medical equipment. The non-IT products business, which includes the mobility services, has seen a considerable pickup in the share of its business in the past. Close to 30 per cent of the company's revenue, which was at Rs 15,480 crore on a standalone basis in 2016-17, has been from the mobility and s...

Globally Oppo ranks fourth behind Samsung, Apple and Huawei Latest news : With its army of salespeople and vast network of outlets, a relatively new smartphone maker has exploded in popularity to overtake global giants Apple and Samsung in China's market - and now it has its eye on the West. Oppo began life selling DVD players in the in the southern manufacturing hub of Dongguan a little more than a decade ago and only broke into the handset market in 2011. But with an aggressive marketing strategy and concentration on bricks-and-mortar stores in small and medium- sized cities -- rather than relying on online customers -- sales have soared. Last year it had a market share of 16.8 per cent making it the China market leader and while a slip in the first three months of 2017 put it just behind local rival Huawei, according to market analyst IDC, it remains well ahead of Apple and Samsung. Globally it ranks fourth behind Samsung, Apple and Huawei. Whil...

SuperNight packs will enable users to download unlimited data for five hours at a fixed price Latest news :  Vodafone India on Monday announced a new product -- Vodafone SuperNight -- with immediate effect for prepaid customers. According to the company, the new product at Rs 29 will enable unlimited 3G/4G data usage and download for five hours. "The pack can be activated any time of the day but will be applicable only during the subsequent five hours between 1 a.m. to 6 a.m.," it said in a statement. Vodafone is offering Internet access between 1am and 6am at Rs 29 a day. This comes out to less than Rs. 6 per hour.In contrast, Reliance Jio’s services cost about Rs. 10 per day for 1GB of 4G data. Read this : Now, you can use your Hike messenger to make mobile transactions The recharge pack can be purchased anytime during the day, but will kick in at 1 am only. The new SuperNight pack is available to purchase from digital channels, offline outlet...

Device to be unveiled in the US today at 9:30 PM IST; OnePlus 5 will be open to all buyers Latest news : The rumours and speculations over the much-awaited flagship smartphone OnePlus 5 are expected to be put to rest today. Pete Lau, co-founder and chief executive officer of OnePlus, is expected to answer all questions related to the flagship device tonight at 9:30 PM IST through a recorded webcast from the United States. While the official India launch is still two days away, tonight’s event is expected to satiate thousands of prospective buyers and smartphone geeks across the world who have been waiting to put their hands on the latest device from OnePlus’ stable. Read this : Reliance Jio is still a second option for 82% telecom users OnePlus, which started its journey only three and a half years ago in December 2013, gained popularity in India with its very first device, the OnePlus One launched in mid-2014. The following models – One Plus 2 (released in August 2015...

Latest news :  Apple's upcoming iPhone 8 may not include next generation gigabit support and the company will stick to 4G LTE technology, media reported. "Apple's decision to leave out the faster gigabit chip found in the competing Galaxy S8 from Samsung could be because of how it sources modems," tech website zdnet.com reported on Monday. Gigabit connectivity offers fibre-like speeds via wireless and is supposed to be 50-100 times faster. Apple has partnered with Qualcomm and Intel for modems, of which only Qualcomm offers a modem which is capable of one-gigabit download speeds. Apple is also reportedly developing a dedicated artificial intelligence (AI) chip, called the Apple Neural Engine, that would power AI-related tasks on mobile devices. The chip is also said to improve battery life and the overall performance of Apple devices. Read this: Google's Daydream View VR headset comes to India, priced at Rs 6,499 With the new chip,...

Initial production of a small number of iPhone has started in Bengaluru The US-based technology major Apple has started selling iPhones at select stores in the country that were assembled in India as part of its trial run. "Apple is selling iPhone SE in India at select stores. These phones were assembled in India on trial basis in limited quantities," an industry source told PTI. Apple did not comment on the development. The technology major a couple of days back had said that it was "beginning initial production of a small number of iPhone SE in Bengaluru". Read this: Here are rates of all the items as fixed by GST Council "The high-end India-made iPhones (iPhone SE) have already hit the Indian market. These have been on sale from May 2 onwards," another source said. A picture shared by the source showed details of the iPhone SE with 32GB storage capacity with 'Designed by Apple in California, Assembled in India' ...

Qualcomm sued the iPhones manufacturers for failing to pay royalties on the chip maker's technology Qualcomm Inc said on Wednesday that, it filed a complaint against the Foxconn Technology Group and three other contract manufacturers of Apple Inc for not paying royalties. The other manufacturers listed by Qualcomm were Pegatron Corp, Wistron Corp., and Compal Electronics Inc. Qualcomm filed the complaint in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. Qualcomm, the largest maker of chips used in smartphones, is a major supplier to Apple and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd for modem chips that connect phones to wireless networks. Read this: Xiaomi Redmi 4 takeaways: A fine balance of software, hardware and design The iPhone maker sued Qualcomm in January, accusing it of overcharging for chips and refusing to pay some $1 billion in promised rebates. Qualcomm said last month that Apple had decided to withhold royalty payments to its cont...

The 30% gain in Apple shares this year has taken its m-cap to nearly $800 bn, more than Sensex m-cap The recent rally in the share price of A pple Inc has taken the market capitalisation of the technology giant to more than $797 billion at 10 PM IST, making it bigger than the combined market cap of all the 30 Sensex companies put together. India’s bluechip index closed at a market cap of $784 billion, based on Monday's share prices. Apple, the most valuable company in the world, is the only company to have a higher market cap than that of the Sensex companies together. The Sensex accounts for 40 per cent of India’s total market cap. Apple is also larger than the market cap of countries like Brazil, Singapore, Spain, and Malaysia. In the league of companies with the top market cap, Apple is followed by Alphabet Inc and Microsoft, which have a market cap of $651 billion and $530 billion, respectively. Read this: Reliance Jio to offer 100 GB free data, 100 Mbps s...

Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 8 at the company's 10th anniversary Apple  is one smartphone manufacturer that enjoys to be among a fair share of rumours every year. And, if the rumour mill is to be believed, Apple has already started working on the design language, feature sets and hardware of the next generation of its iPhone, speculated to be named the iPhone 8 and expected to be launched later this year. Given that Apple has been using the same design language for past three generation of iPhones – iPhone 6, iPhone 6S, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 7, and iPhone 7 Plus – it is expected that the iPhone 8, or the next iteration, would make a design shift and be built right from scratch. Apart from the design language, there is also a lot of buzz around the hardware and software enhancement aspects of the iPhone. Let’s take a quick look at the top speculations about the next iPhone: Variants According to speculations, Apple is currently testing at least 10 prototypes of...