iPhone 8 launch in India is set for Friday, and there are offers galore to make the deal more lucrative. While we already have launch offers from Amazon and Reliance Jio on the iPhones, Flipkart has joined the club by offering Rs.10,000 in cashback and upto Rs.23,000 in exchange. If you manage to avail both the offers you can bag the base variant of the iPhone 8 for as low as Rs. 31,100 and the iPhone 8 Plus for Rs. 40,100.
If you have the iPhone 7 or the iPhone 7 Plus then you can get an exchange value of Rs 20,000 and Rs. 23,000 respectively. Alternatively, if you have a Citibank Credit card or a Citibank World Debit card you will get a cashback of Rs. 10,000. The cashback offer is currently not available on other cards, including corporate, at the moment. While you are pre-ordering the iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus, be sure to check the seller’s name as the offer is applicable only on transactions made via Shreyash Retail Pvt. Ltd. (SuperCom Net) on the Flipkart platform.
Nokia 3310 3G variant brings high-speed internet to the classic feature phone
The Nokia 3310 was resurrected this year when HMD Global took over the reins of Nokia. The new handset got a new design and a new version of snakes but did not get high-speed internet connectivity. While it had 2G connectivity, the Web surfing experience was slow and painful. Nokia seems to have fixed it by launching a 3G variant of the Nokia 3310 called the Nokia 3310 3G. As of now the handset will be available only in Australia at a price tag of AUD 89.95 (roughly Rs. 4,600) while its “global average price” will be EUR 69 (about Rs. 5,320).
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Nokia acquisition in hit refresh book
Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia’s device division back in 2013 wasn’t exactly a match made in heaven. While a lot of people expressed their disapproval earlier, Microsoft’s current CEO Satya Nadella in his new book reveals that he never wanted Microsoft to purchase Nokia. “The press criticised the idea and the Microsoft board was resistant,” Nadella describes the tension between the announcement and the acquisition of Nokia’s division.
“Over the summer, while still in negotiations to buy Nokia outright, Steve Ballmer asked the members of his leadership team, his direct reports, to vote thumbs-up or thumbs-down on the deal. He wanted a public vote to see where the team was on the matter. I voted no. While I respected Steve and understood the logic of growing our market share to build a credible third ecosystem, I did not get why the world needed the third ecosystem in phones, unless we changed the rules,” Nadella reveals in his book, Hit Refresh, which hit shelves this week.
Honor 7X launch set for October 11, will feature 18:9 ratio display
Honor, the Huawei brand, is all set to launch the successor of the Honor 6X on October 11. Called the Honor 7X, the new smartphone will launch in China based on the company’s confirmation in a Weibo post. In the same post, Honor seemingly confirms that the Honor 7X will feature an 18:9 display. Considering that the Honor 6X had a dual camera setup, we can expect the Honor 7X to have something similar. The smartphone is said to feature a 5.5-inch display with an 18:9 aspect ratio and is likely to be powered by a Kirin 670 SoC, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage and will run on EMUI 5.1 on Android Nougat.
Nokia 3, Nokia 5, Nokia 6 to get Android 8.0 Oreo update before the end of 2017
Earlier this month, HMD Global confirmed that its devices will be getting an update to Android 8.0 Oreo without mentioning any timeline for it. The company has now announced that the Android Oreo update for Nokia 3, Nokia 5 and Nokia 6 will be released before the end of the year. HMD Global has been quite active in pushing security updates to all of its devices including the Nokia 3 which is a sub-Rs. 10,000 phone.
Google Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL said to sport always listening music feature, portrait mode, and more
As the launch date for the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL approaches, there are multiple leaks revealing hardware and software specifications of the device. It has been reported that the new Google smartphones will have a redesigned Pixel Launcher, dual stereo speakers on the front, a portrait mode for the camera and an always listening music recognition feature. Google is now looking forward to pack some brand new features, along with the new set of hardware. While most smartphones with portrait mode for the camera sport a dual camera setup, it is evident from the leaks that the Pixel phones only have a single camera on the back. Some rumours also point out that both the phones might ditch the 3.5mm audio jack.
Facebook unveils blood donation features in India
Facebook has announced a new initiative to increase blood donations in India by connecting donors with those in need. Citing the ‘shortage of safe blood’ in India, Facebook mentioned that its users use the social network to reach out to donors. In order to address it, it will allow people to sign up as donors and help other individuals, hospitals and blood banks to reach out to them. The social networking giant said that it has worked with non-profit organisations, health industry experts and potential donor to ensure that the service is useful.
iPhone X Face ID security details revealed; iPhone X hit with production snag
Apple has released more details on how the Face ID feature on the iPhone X works, some of the concerns that people have had since the face-scanning feature was announced. When Apple unveiled the feature claiming it can unlock phones and be used for payments, it led to a lot of privacy concerns and questions about how the data was stored on the device. Apple says that the Face ID data won’t leave the device and also lists out conditions under which the face scanning feature won’t work.
While the doubt regarding the security of the Face ID has been cleared, it might not be that easy to get hold of an iPhone X. Launched alongside the iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus, the iPhone X may not be available in sufficient quantities if reports are to be believed. Apple seems to have run into production issues with two components needed for the Face ID feature on the iPhone X. A longer manufacturing time for the production of one of the component is to be blamed.
Akai launches 50-inch 4K Ultra HD Smart LED TV in India
Akai has launched a 50-inch 4K LED TV in India at Rs. 59,990, and the new model is already available in offline stores in the country. The TV sports UHD resolution, a refresh rate of 60Hz and runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow; it also has 1.5GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage. The new TV also has Wi-Fi support built-in and an Akai store where users can download apps from. The Akai store currently has over 100 apps including Facebook and Twitter. Other connectivity options include two USB ports, three HDMI ports, and AV-In and AV-Out ports.