Micromax Canvas Laptab With Windows 8.1 Launched at Rs. 14,999

After launching multiple handsets, tablets and television models, Micromax on Thursday entered the laptop-tablet hybrid market with its Micromax Canvas Laptab. The 2-in-1 device will be available starting May 6 initially exclusively on Amazon India at Rs. 14,999.

The single-SIM supporting Micromax Canvas Laptab runs on Windows 8.1 with Bing and is also upgradable to Windows 10 OS. The tablet features an 10.1-inch IPS display with a WXGA (1280x800 pixels) resolution. It is powered by a 1.33GHz quad-core Intel Atom Z3735F processor (up to 1.83GHz in Burst mode) coupled with 2GB of DDR3L RAM. It sports 32GB of inbuilt storage, which can be further expanded via a microSD card. The buyers would additionally receive 1TB of cloud storage on Microsoft's OneDrive service.

The Canvas Laptab equips a 2-megapixel rear and front-facing camera and a 7700mAh battery, which is rated to offer a usage time of 10 hours. It measures 210.8x124.2x9.95mm, weighs 1.1kgs and is available in Black colour variant only. Connectivity features of the device feature Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, USB and 3G. The Micromax Canvas Laptab offers one year of free subscription for Microsoft Office 365 Personal apps. It also houses dual speakers placed either sides on the rear panel.

Commenting on the launch Vineet Taneja, CEO, Micromax Informatics Limited, said, "Today's launch marks our entry into the PC segment, where we intend to drive category growth and not only garner an available market share. We believe that our vision complements the initiatives for Digital India, and we will be launching a range of exciting products over the next few months in the category."

Micromax had first introduced a device called the LapTab back at CES 2014, revealing it would be dual-boot tablet with Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean and Windows 8. It was set to launch soon after at under Rs. 30,000. This never happened, and over a year later, the Indian brand has brought a Windows-only version of the tablet to India.

The company's foray into the laptop-tablet hybrid market comes after its recent launch of its first 4K TVs in March. The range includes two televisions, the smaller being 42-inches and the larger being 49-inches, priced at Rs. 39,990 (42-inch) and Rs. 49,990 (49-inch).

The TVs feature 4K (Ultra High Definition) display panels with a resolution of 3840x2160 pixels. They are also smart TVs, and run Android 4.4 KitKat with Google Play, Facebook, Twitter, Gmail and other apps preloaded. Navigation is through a Smart Somato-Sensory remote control, which acts as an air mouse to make navigation around the user interface easier.

Xiaomi Mi 4i With Octa-Core Snapdragon 615 SoC, 2GB RAM Launched at Rs. 12,999

♥Xiaomi at its Global Mi Phone Premiere event in New Delhi on Thursday launched the Xiaomi Mi 4i smartphone in India priced at Rs. 12,999, as we exclusively reported. It will be available in Black, White, Orange, Light Blue, and Pink colours.
The smartphone will be made available in its first flash sale on April 30 on Flipkart, and go up for registrations at 8pm on Thursday. It will be available with all of Xiaomi's recently announced partners in the future, and will also be sold at Mi.com.

♥The Xiaomi event was attended by CEO and Founder Lei Jun, and VP Xiaomi Global Hugo Barra. The Xiaomi Mi 4i features a unibody polycarbonate body, and has a soft touch matte finish with an anti-grease coating. Xiaomi says the dual-SIM dual standby smartphone is 12 percent thinner than the Mi 4, and 13 percent lighter, at 7.8mm and 130 grams. Both SIM card slots support 4G LTE connectivity, and the phone is compatible with LTE bands in India.

♥The Mi 4i sports a 5-inch full-HD (1080x1920 pixels) fully laminated OGS Corning Concore IPS Sharp JDI display, which is said to provide the same protection as the Corning Gorilla Glass 3. It has a pixel density of 441ppi, and a Sunlight Display feature that optimises the display under bright light.

Microsoft Windows 10 to Launch at the End of July, Reveals AMD CEO

Microsoft Windows 10, the technical previews of which have been detailing new features with every release, is officially due to release this "summer". It may launch as soon as July however.

While Microsoft is mum on when it will launch its flagship OS for PCs and mobile handsets beyond the above mentioned "summer" release for PCs, AMD on the other hand during its earnings call last week spilled the beans. AMD President and CEO Lisa Su revealed the information while answering a question. She however, did not reveal the exact date of release.

"What we also are factoring in is, with the Windows 10 launch at the end of July, we are watching the impact of that on the back-to-school season, and expect that it might have a bit of a delay to the normal back-to-school season inventory buildup," Su said, as reported by Tweaktown website.

When announced in January, Microsoft's Operating System head, Terry Myerson said the OS might hit the markets in autumn this year. The firm has also revealed Windows 10 to arrive in 190 countries and 111 languages. Since then, Myerson provided a summer release date.

Microsoft via its Windows 10 technical preview versions has till date revealed its new Music and Video apps without Xbox branding, Project Spartan Browser and the Universal Maps app. It might also improve the touch mode in the OS, as seen in a leaked build. The firm last month also released tools for building Windows 10 Universal Apps for developers. Developers, to access the new tools released by Microsoft, have to first sign up for the Windows Insider Program and install the latest Windows 10 Technical Preview release.

Lenovo A6000 Plus With 2GB RAM, 16GB Storage Launched at Rs. 7,499

Lenovo on Friday launched a slightly more powerful variant of the popular Lenovo A6000 smartphone, the Lenovo A6000 Plus, priced at Rs. 7,499. Registrations for the smartphone's first flash sale via Flipkart on April 28 will begin on Friday, 2pm IST.

The dual-SIM supporting Lenovo A6000 Plus is identical to the Lenovo A6000 except for featuring twice the RAM and inbuilt storage. The handset equips 2GB of RAM and 16GB of inbuilt storage as compared to the Lenovo A6000's 1GB and 8GB inbuilt storage.

The smartphone features a 5-inch HD (720x1280 pixels) IPS display and is powered by a 64-bit 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 (MSM8916) SoC with Adreno 306 400MHz GPU. The Android 4.4.4 KitKat-based smartphone runs Lenovo's Vibe UI 2.0 skin on top. It features Dolby Digital Plus speakers.

iBall Andi 5M Xotic With 5-Inch Display, 2GB of RAM Launched at Rs. 8,199

1.iBall has launched the Andi 5M Xotic smartphone in India, pricing it at Rs. 8,199. The iBall smartphone was previously listed for purchase in February by an online retailer at Rs. 8,950.

2.According to company, the  biggest USP of the iBall Andi 5M Xotic is its 2GB of RAM at the price, as well as 16GB of built-in storage. The dual-SIM smartphone runs on Android 4.4 KitKat that the firm says will be upgraded to Android 5.0 Lollipop. It features a 5-inch qHD (540x960 pixels) IPS display that offers a pixel density of 220ppi.

3.The smartphone packs a quad-core 1.3GHz Cortex-A7 processor coupled with 2GB of RAM. Besides an 8-megapixel autofocus rear camera with BSI sensor and LED flash, the iBall Andi 5M Xotic also includes a 3.2-megapixel front-facing camera. The 16GB of inbuilt storage is expandable via microSD card (up to 32GB).

Apple Urged by IT Minister to Set Up R&D Facility in India

Hoping to rope in another big multinational technology company in the country in a big way, Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Friday urged Apple to open a research and development (R&D) facility in India.

The minister on Friday met Apple's Head Compliance EMEIA region John Reynolds in New Delhi.

"Apple is an effective brand in India and personally I requested them to consider opening a good R&D centre in India," Prasad said after the meeting.

He said the meeting with Reynolds was positive and Prasad will be visiting Apple's facility in Silicon Valley next month.

The minister felt a R&D centre by Apple in the country would help the tech giant in getting good business propositions in other parts of Asia also.

The minister mentioned that in financial year 2013-14, Apple sold their products worth $730 million (roughly Rs. 4545 crores) in India.

1+ has launched its device in india

OnePlus has announced that its '2014 Flagship Killer' smartphone, the One, will not get a price hike in India.
The speculations around price hike of the OnePlus One for the Indian market started last month when the company raised prices of the handset for Europe (specifically the countries part of the European Union) citing the decline in value of the Euro. The company had even hinted that it might revise the price of the OnePlus One smartphone in India.

The Chinese company however, stressing on the fact that the One smartphone should be available at an attractive price point in the country, has decided not to raise price as of now.

To recall, the 16GB Silk White OnePlus One is currently retailing in India at Rs. 18,999 while the 64GB Sandstone Black variant is priced at Rs. 21,999 in India.

Commenting on this development, Vikas Agarwal, General Manager - India, OnePlus, said: "In line with our NeverSettle philosophy and long term commitment to the Indian market, we assure our users that we are constantly evaluating what works best for them; part of that is to continue to make the One available at an attractive price point. It is an ambitious step for a young startup, but for us it's about returning maximum value to our users by offering them great products and unique experiences."

OnePlus over the weekend, after missing its deadlines at the end of March, started the rollout of the OxygenOS custom ROM based on Android 5.0 Lollipop for the OnePlus One smartphone. The ROM was made available to download and flash.

Google 'declares war' on China's biggest web registrar after 'bad behaviour'

1.Google has declared war on China's biggest web registrar, China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), due to its "bad behavior."
In its security blog post, Google made it clear that it would no longer accept HTTPS certificates from the CNNIC, effectively cutting the registrar out of the SSL system that secures the web.


2.HTTPS certificates ensure that web content cannot be intercepted in transit and CNNIC controls that process for the whole Chinese web, The Verge reported.
Defending its decision, Google argued that CNNIC was not careful enough in handling how its certificates were used as recently an Egyptian web company used its certificates to carry out a man-in-the-middle attack.
Meanwhile, CNNIC has strongly protested against Google's decision, calling it "unacceptable" and "unintelligible." It urged the tech giant to take users' rights and interest into full consideration.
Although CNNIC's existing certificates would still be valid, but new ones would not be issued. In order to recertify itself, CNNIC has already started working through Google's Certificate Transparency process.

3.CNNIC 's share of the certificate market is already very small, representing less than 0.1 per cent of the certificates used on the web, as the Chinese government discourages the use of HTTPS by Chinese web companies as a way to reinforce the Great Firewall.

iPhone 6C With 4-Inch Display Unlikely to Launch in 2015: Analyst

♦Apple may not debut its much-anticipated 4-inch iPhone model this year, while more details about the implementation of the expected Force Touch feature on the iPhone range have been tipped.
KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo contradicts recent rumours that suggested three new iPhone models were likely to launch this year - the iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus, and iPhone 6C.

○Kuo further added that the next-generation iPhone models featuring 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch displays will sport Force Touch technology that will work differently when compared to the Apple Watch, new MacBook and 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro.

•9to5mac citing Kuo claims that the Force Touch technology on the iPhone 6S will sense "how much of a user's finger contacts the display." It will only detect a touch when the user "adequately" touches the screen, thus differentiating it from light tap. The report claims that the upcoming iPhones will feature dedicated sensor, which will be placed under the backlight, to accurately measure touch pressure. Kuo says Samsung uses a similar methodology for touch sensor placement on Galaxy Note phablet screens, though he adds that Apple's implementation will be more advanced.

◘Kuo speculates that addition of Force Touch will be a major upgrade from the last year's iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus leading him to believe that Apple might call it 'iPhone 7'.

♣In the meanwhile, the Force Touch sensors are being tipped to only be made available on the iPhone 6S Plus, with a report out of China (via GSMArena) adding the sensors will costs two and half times as much as that on the Apple Watch due to its larger size.

♦An earlier report hinting Apple will launch three iPhones suggested that the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus will be incremental updates from last year's iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. The iPhone 6C on the other hand would be the cheaper variant of the handset that the Cupertino-based giant will launch to tap emerging markets, which also includes India. All three were said to launch in the second half of 2015.

Google Unveils Asus Chromebit 'Computer on a Stick' With Chrome OS

•Google and Taiwan's Asus are launching a "computer on a stick" which can plug into a display to turn it into a PC.
Google said in a blog post that the Asus Chromebit would be arriving mid-year with a low price tag.

"Smaller than a candy bar, the Chromebit is a full computer that will be available for less than $100," Google said.

"By simply plugging this device into any display, you can turn it into a computer. It's the perfect upgrade for an existing desktop and will be really useful for schools and businesses."

The statement offered no other details on the device, but Google also announced its lowest-cost Chromebook laptop computers at $149 in partnership with Chinese electronic groups Haier and Hisense.

With a display of 11.6 inches, the Haier computer is being sold through Amazon and the Hisense PC through Walmart.

Google has produced Chrome devices with other manufacturers including Acer, Lenovo, Dell and LG.