Apple said on Monday (28 September) it sold more than 13 million iPhone 6s and 6s Plus during the first weekend on the market, a new record for its marquee product. The company improved its previous record of 10 million iPhones sold in the first weekend of 2014, benefiting from the inclusion of the Chinese market, where the gadget's debut was delayed last year by regulatory issues. Analysts had expected the company to sell 12 million to 13 million phones during the first weekend. “Sales for iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus have been phenomenal, blowing past any previous first weekend sales results in Apple’s history,” Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, said in a statement. “Customers’ feedback is incredible and they are loving 3D Touch and Live Photos, and we can’t wait to bring iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus to customers in even more countries on October 9.” Apple said the new iPhones will be available in more than 40 additional countries starting Oct. 9, reaching more than 130 countries by the end of the year. The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus arrived in stores Friday, kicking off a sales cycle that will be scrutinized for signs of how much allure remains for Apple's marquee product. The company relies heavily on the sale of its flagship iPhones, which generated nearly two-thirds of its revenue in the latest quarter. (Reuters)
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Finally it will be Google’s turn to announce its new range of products and services as the company has a major event happening on the 29thof September. While it is not confirmed, but Google is expected to launch new Nexus smartphones, a new updated Chromecast and the previously announced Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS. Here are some of the expected announcements that we might hear from tomorrow’s event. Nexus SmartphonesLast year Google chose Motorola to make a large 5.9-inch phablet as the Nexus 6 which didn’t see a lot of popularity due to the humongous size. This year we might see more than one Nexus smartphone as Google is expected to bring in the Nexus 5X and the 6P which will be made by LG and Huawei respectively. Both the smartphones will sport a fingerprint scanner at the back as well as a USB Type-C port both of which are to be supported natively by the Android Marshmallow updateThe Nexus 5X is expected to come with a Snapdragon 808 six-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB and 32GB storage variants, a 12MP camera and a 5.2-inch full HD 1080p display. While the Nexus 6P could be the first ever Nexus smartphone that will have a fully metal body. On the inside there will be a the new revision of the Snapdragon 810 octa-core version which will hopefully not heat as much, 32GB, 64GB and 128GB versions, 12MP rear camera, and a 5.7-inch 2K display. Android MarshmallowThe new Android update will be launched officially and will first feature on the above mentioned Nexus smartphones. Google will also announces the roll-out plans of the new update for its previous version of devices. You can check out the features of the new upcoming update over here. Updated ChromecastThe Chromecast has been around for a long time now although, Google officially launched the original Chromecast in India just last year. An updated version of the HDMI streaming device is said to be on its way that will see an updated faster processor, better connectivity hardware and bandwidth support and more service support.It is also expected that a new Chromecast device will also be announced which will focus on music streaming and which will directly be plugged into your speakers or headphones. This would also mean that there is a new or an updated music streaming service on its way from Google. YouTube SubscriptionThe popular videos streaming service YouTube could also see an updated wherein Google will bringing a subscription model where users will have an option where they can watch videos without any ads. This could be a huge turn for the service to pull in more subscribers as well as earn huge revenues.
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Mala BhargavaThis week there's been a lot of hype around virtual reality, thanks to a developers' conference, Oculus Connect. Oculus is owned by Facebook which invested $2 billion acquiring it, with Mark Zuckerberg believing VR is going to be one of the most important platforms of the future. Many believe VR is in fact going to change the world - one day. Virtual Reality has made it to hype and back before, but now actual products are about to be commercially available, both mainstream and cheaply. Oculus and Samsung have created the Gear VR headset which will cost just $99 and will work with many Galaxy phones -that will instantly allow more people to experience some form of virtual reality. Facebook itself, HTC, Sony and many other companies have products ready or in the making. Incredibly, very soon, CNN is going to offer a front row view of the US presidential debates, for those who have the Gear VR. This is meant to give an immersive as-if-you-were-there experience. The VR broadcast of the debates is just the kind of real-world application of virtual reality that could be transformative in the future. If you've seen Google's Street View 360 degree photos and been absorbed by the panoramic views of places around the world, you can just imagine how that would be if brought to life and if you could feel as if you were really in that place. YouTube and now Facebook have introduced 360 degree videos that take the experience further, but VR will enable a person to move around and in some ways interact with the virtual environment. Before all that though, Virtual Reality has to become comfortable. It still means clapping a huge headset and goggles on to your face and people report feeling nauseous or getting a headache. In any case, it's not easy to use for a long time at a stretch. Nor has there been enough content for VR to go mass. But now, it's poised to begin, with gaming taking the lead and movies not far behind. Putting VR to educational use, taking it beyond Google Cardboard, is a critical area being worked on. Harvard Business School has even held a few virtual classes. There will be potential applications in many industries, from travel to health to business tu marketing, but as Mark Zuckerberg himself warned, virtual reality tech is going to grow slowly.
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Indian Market MaturesPuneet MehrotraThe Indian consumer has never had it so good as far as smartphones are concerned. It's literally raining smart phones. It's no longer about the under ten thousand market but the mid premium segment between Rs 20,000- Rs 30,000 that is catching the fancy of smartphone markers. This development is important because it shows the maturing of Indian smartphone market. Coming on offer are phones that can simply be game changers in time to come. Meizu - The New Entrant on the SceneThis Wednesday Meizu officially launched its high-end flagship phone PRO5 which will soon be available in India. Meizu is one of the top ten smartphone brands in China. Interestingly, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., China’s leading e-commerce company, recently invested $590 million for a minority stake in Meizu. Meizu had entered the Indian market last month with MX5 launched at Rs 19,999 exclusively on Snapdeal. It won't take a genius to build connections between Alibaba, Snapdeal, Meizu and more. Make in India is WorkingNoteworthy is the attractiveness of the Indian market is being viewed by Chinese giants that investments are flowing in India. Interestingly Make in India slogan seems to be working as Li Nan, Vice President, Marketing, said in a conversation, “It just makes economic sense to setup a manufacturing base as India is the biggest market outside China.” Li Nan added “The Indian market is maturing and Meizu wants to make available high models in India." He added his biggest priority is the Indian market now. Meizu PRO5 Available in gray, silver-white, silver-black and rose-gold PRO5 plays with metal in a good way. It is sturdy and tough. Consider this, 3D polishing three times makes the body delicate and tougher, five times spraying accurately to 0.02 mm thick makes the surface smoother and more durable, mechanical and manual polishing ensures a perfectly rounded arc. ProcessorAn Exynos 7420 8-core 64-bit processor, octa-core Mali-T760 graphics renderer, 14nm 3D FinFET processing technology. mTouch 2.1The PRO5 uses the latest generation of fingerprint sensor of Fingerprint Cards to enhance the accuracy and response speed of the fingerprint module, under the premise of ensuring safety. Panasonic and other well-known suppliers supply components for the fingerprint module of the PRO5 with a large metal area and longer key travel, making the necessary force more uniform, yet softer to the touch using the same amount of pressure, Hi-Fi Sound 2.0With the ES9018K2M and OPA1612 elements which are normally only used on a Hi-Fi player, PRO5 also has a Solo amp circuit at benchmark level on this basis and added four pairs of NXP high current transistors. As a result, the drive capability of the PRO5 has improved greatly, the transient performance is excellent and the sound is powerful and accurate, even the high-end headset can accomplish any task with ease. CameraThe PRO5 features the new SONY 21.16 mega-pixels CMOS, which makes full-sized zero-delay shutter a reality. In addition, the PRO5 camera also integrates PDAF phase focusing and laser-assisted focusing to significantly improve the focusing speed under complicated lighting conditions. Optimized 4G Data and VoiceThe PRO5 has a faster 4G network downloading speed, and supports the LTE Cat.6 standard, with downlink peak speeds up to 300Mbps in the TDD LTE 4G frequency band. In addition, the PRO5 also uses the latest VoLTE technology to make switching between voice and data networks smoother. ET technology is supported, which can greatly reduce power consumption. DisplayThe 5.7 inch 1080P display screen, 2.5D arc glass. BatterymCharge supports up to 24W fast charging and 30 minutes of charging will give up to 65 per cent of battery capacity. The battery with a typical capacity value of 3050mAh is built into the phone, and the Sony/ATL fast-charging cell is used. PricingThe approximate pricing is under Rs 30,000 The Last WordThere is a lot available beyond the Apple. Overall if you look at the specifications you do wonder why spend a grand Rs 60,000 on a smartphone just for the pedigree when you can get lots more for half the price. Backed by Alibaba, Meizu is a company to watch out for. Will it go the success route of Xiaomi and Gionee or be just another brand is something time will tell. But PRO5 launch does set new standards and benchmarks for smartphones across the world both in specifications and pricing. Puneet Mehrotra is a columnist on Life & Technology. puneet.im puneet@tbe.in
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Simar SinghWith Instagram and Pintrest feeds flowing with motivational quotes, images of super-fit people doing yoga on the beach against the backdrop of a picturesque sunset and a multitude of gym selfies, getting fit is clearly becoming a priority for many across the world. #DoYouEvenLift? However, if you’re anything like me, you’re stuck in the perpetually of the cyclic process of staring at these images, promising yourself to get fitter, trying some type of exercise, only to get bored and quit. When Vishesh Goel, COO and co-founder of FitMeIn narrates the story of the start-up’s genesis in his own experiences as an individual struggling to stay consistently motivated to exercise and stay fit, the similarity to my own situation makes me wallow with shame. “I went through ten different memberships, kept a gym bag in my car that was barely used,” he says. Eventually, colleague, friend and fellow co-founder, Nidisha Varshney, struck a deal with eight studios in and around Golf Course Road, where their office was located, to let Goel attend a variety of classes and pay on a day to day basis. This formulaic variation was what pulled him out of his ‘gym boredom’ and the idea of FitMeIn was born. Launched in June this year by Goel, Varshney and Lalit Singh, FitMeIn is an online portal which allows users to take up a monthly multi-studio membership at workout destinations in Delhi-NCR. According to a local research carried out by them, “80 per cent of people dropped out of their gym/fitness classes because of boredom”. “Offering a wide variety of workout options helps avoid the monotony fitness regime and cuts off the boredom factor,” explains Goel. The fitness and wellness market, in general, is a growing space with the younger population with rising disposable incomes becoming increasingly comfortable with shelling out money to get fit. According to a 2011 PWC and FICCI report the wellness and fitness industry in India was predicted to touch 100 crores by 2015, making it an area to watch out for. FitMeIn has taken up many interesting ways of marketing themselves, kickstarting by organising a ‘Yogathon’ around World Yoga Day, which saw over 10,000 participants in 80 to 100 centres offering all kinds of variants like aerial, aqua, pilates and body balance, as well as the ‘Don’t let your friend sit on the couch’ campaign on Friendships Day. Goel also tells me about ‘A movement for movement’ in which FitMeIn has tied up with the HR wings of companies includingThe Times of India, Mercer, PayTM, Bain and Pepsi, among others, to offer employees ‘FitCoins’ (the virtual currency which can be used to avail classes and facilities around the city) as a way of encouraging healthy lifestyle. “We will also start a program with MakeMyTrip from October 1, which will utilise the office space to offer ‘Happy Hours in Office’-different classes on different days, to their employees”, he adds. Initially bootstrapped, FitMeIn raised $100,000 from Vikram Upadhayaya lead GreenHouse Ventures (GHV) this month and currently offers 5000+ workout sessions every week with plans to increase the number to over 15,000 sessions per week by the end of this year in major cities across India. The FitMeIn App was launched on Android on Wednesday (23 September) and its iOS version is expected to be released in a fortnight.
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IT security provider Seqrite, has launched a new version of Seqrite Mobile Device Management (MDM) to regulate and monitor the growing workforce of smartphones and tablets that are used by enterprises all around the world today.The cloud-based solution makes it extremely simple for enterprise admins to manage the security and productivity of all mobile devices that are deployed within its network.The new version of Seqrite MDM now has three new features which are aimed at boosting a network’s monitoring capabilities and more. These features are Network Data Monitoring, Call/SMS Monitoring and Seqrite Launcher.Sanjay Katkar, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) further said, “MDM technologies enable companies to not only secure the mobile devices, but the data on them as well. Our MDM solution works on Android, iOS and Windows Phone, and these new features provide flexibility, user enablement and enhanced security. Monitoring data usage and call/SMS logs gives enterprises a layered approach to their security. Moreover, Seqrite Launcher now enables companies to run their customized apps on devices and choose what functions and settings can be accessed by users.”(BW Online Bureau)
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Several small and medium businesses (SMBs) across India have adopted IBM Cloud to transform their IT, enhance organisational collaboration, and provide better services to customers. SEL Group, Polytech Instruments and Strategic Decisions Group (SDG) will use IBM Connections Cloud, enabling them to significantly reduce operational costs and improve productivity. IBM Connections Cloud is a set of cloud-delivered online technologies that combine social networking and online collaboration, messaging, and web conference tools. The cost-effective social network platform enables organizations deepen customer relationships, increase effectiveness, optimize workforces and reduce IT costs and complexity. Using these collaborative tools, employees will be able to provide a better experience and superior support by being able to tap into internal experts, information, and resources. Each of the aforementioned companies have facilities across India and abroad and each turned to Connections Cloud to develop better collaboration and integration among employees and between business groups. "Enterprises, small or large, are harnessing the benefits of cloud computing. They face challenges around reliability, standards, security, and control in truly extending the use of cloud beyond IT. IBM Connections Cloud provides easy-to-access integrated email, social business capabilities and third-party applications along with its enterprise grade security and control. This will help these SMBs to overcome the challenge of optimizing workforce with minimal IT spend, with client delight in mind, "said Gaurav Sharma, Director, Social Solutions, Smarter Workforce & Internet of Things, IBM India/SA.(BW Online Burea)
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Haider Ali KhanUAE Exchange India, one of the leading financial services firm in the country, has launched XPay Wallet - a mobile app. It will be the first non banking finance company to offer foreign exchange services through a mobile app. Apart from this, the app will also offers services like ticket booking, loans, money transfer and prepaid mobile top-up. Speaking on the occasion of the launch, V George Antony, MD, UAE Exchange India said, “UAE Exchange India is the first foreign exchange company to introduce mobile app in India, for buying forex. We, at UAE Exchange will continue to focus on innovations in technology to offer unique propositions that are simple, fast and convenient”. XPay has been structured to optimize the services and help in minimizing the time-consumed in the currency exchange processes. The digital route also enables online foreign exchange booking and home delivery facilities that suit the demands of present generation. Apart from this, XPay is one of the first mobile wallet offering payments solutions through quick response (QR) code. Key features of the XPay are: · Domestic Money Transfer Services - Wallet to bank transfer, wallet to wallet transfer, merchant payments, mobile recharge, DTH recharge and wallet top-up· Ticket and tours - Placing tour enquiry, live booking of air-ticket, flight searches, etc.· Forex - Buy currency or card, live currency booking facility, send money abroad, checking live rates of currencies etc.· Loan – Placing loan enquiry, EMI payment facility, status of loan with details of principle and interests. XPay wallet can be downloaded from Play store or UAE Exchange’s website.
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