Technology news

Facebook reiterated that it does not provide any government with “back doors” or direct access to people’s data.
Facebook has reported an almost three-fold jump in the number of content pieces to which it restricted access in India. From 5,832 in the second half of 2014, the number of pieces taken down rose to 15,155 in the first half of 2015, the most for any country, according to the Global Government Requests Report, released on November 11 as part of Facebook’s &ldqu

The first batch of smartphones employing the Snapdragon 820 chip can be expected to arrive by first half of 2016.
Qualcomm has announced its Snapdragon 820 SoC. The new chipset is the latest in Qualcomm’s 800-series of SoCs. The first batch of smartphones employing the Snapdragon 820 chip can be expected to arrive by first half of 2016.
Based on 14nm FinFET fabric, Snapdragon 820 features the new Kryo CPU along with Hexagon 680 DSP. “The new Qualcomm Kryo CPU has 2x performance and

Facebook has disclosed that it received 5,115 request for data from the Indian government concerning a total of 6,268 accounts and some data was produced in at least 45% of the cases. (Photo: Reuters)
Facebook has disclosed that it received 5,115 request for data from the Indian government concerning a total of 6,268 accounts and some data was produced in at least 45% of the cases. However, the more startling figure is the threefold jump in number of content pieces taken down, which is the most

Exynos 8 Octa 8890 chipset is Samsung’s second premium application processor built on 14nm FinFET process technology. (Source: Samsung)
Samsung Electronics today announced its latest Exynos 8 Octa 8890 chipset. This chip is Samsung’s second premium application processor built on 14nm FinFET process technology. Unlike the previous Exynos 7 Octa 7420, the Exynos 8 Octa is an integrated one-chip solution that features the company’s first custom designed CPU based on 64-bit ARMv8

The first batch of smartphones employing the Snapdragon 820 chip can be expected to arrive by first half of 2016.
Qualcomm has announced its Snapdragon 820 SoC. The new chipset is the latest in Qualcomm’s 800-series of SoCs. The first batch of smartphones employing the Snapdragon 820 chip can be expected to arrive by first half of 2016.
Based on 14nm FinFET fabric, Snapdragon 820 features the new Kryo CPU along with Hexagon 680 DSP. “The new Qualcomm Kryo CPU has 2x performance and

India has about 52 per cent of consumers who spend the least amount of time on the Internet even as 56 per cent of them say it’s easier to find products and services online than through friends and family, a study by Swedish telecom gearmaker Ericsson said.
According to a study by Ericsson ConsumerLab, 52 per cent are in the un-networked group, one that carves out the least number of hours for the Internet. Only one in five of the un-networked group uses the Net, and they do so quite infre

Gartner has forecasted that there will be 6.4 billion connected things in use worldwide in 2016. It says that’s 30 percent up from 2015 and is expected to reach 20.8 billion by 2020.
Gartner has estimated the Internet of Things to support services spending of $235 billion in 2016 which is a 22 percent gain from 2015. “IoT services are the real driver of value in IoT, and increasing attention is being focused on new services by end-user organisations and vendors,” said Jim Tully

An Apple manager has apologised to six teenagers of African descent after staff kicked them out of an Australian store citing concerns they “might steal something”, with a video of the incident going viral on Facebook. (Reuters)
An Apple manager has apologised to six teenagers of African descent after staff kicked them out of an Australian store citing concerns they “might steal something”, with a video of the incident going viral on Facebook.
The video, recorded by one o

Facebook heatmap shows the most active Diwali locations in India.
What good is Diwali these days if you don’t post a couple of selfies on Facebook? No wonder then that 21 per cent of the social network’s India monthly active users had some post or engagement on Diwali.
Globally, 45 million unique people had 198 million interactions about Diwali between November 7 and November 11, says a release from Facebook.
Top 5 countries in terms of percent of Monthly Active People (MAP) engagin

China’s telecommunication giant Huawei today said the next generation mobile phone called “superphone” will come out around 2020 and open up a new era by transforming perceptions with its enhanced intelligence.(Reuters)
China’s telecommunication giant Huawei today said the next generation mobile phone called “superphone” will come out around 2020 and open up a new era by transforming perceptions with its enhanced intelligence.
Shao Yang, President of Strategy

Android 6.0 aka Marshmallow brings important features like Now on Tap, battery improvements and permissions to the latest Android mobile OS.
Android Marshmallow is the latest version of Google’s mobile OS. And while the update is still in the process of being rolled out to many users, we’ve had a chance to try it out, thanks to the new Google Nexus 6P.
So what’s new with Android M and is the upgrade really worth the fuss? Here’s our take.
Google Now on Tap: No doubt this

Android Marshmallow is the latest version of Google’s mobile OS. And while the update is still in the process of being rolled out to many users, we’ve had a chance to try out the new OS thanks to the new Google Nexus 6P.
So what’s new with Android M and is the upgrade really worth the fuss? Here’s our take on the new features.
Google Now on Tap: No doubt this is the most important feature in Android M, the one that gives Google’s mobile OS a gigantic lead over Apple

Transcend DrivePro 220 is one of the first dashcams to be commercially marketed in India
I love to watch Russian dashcam videos for the sheer stupidity and block headedness of the drivers and then I look out the window of my office in Noida and wonder why no one uses these devices in India where driver shun rules as if it’s a plague. This is why I jumped on the opportunity of reviewing the Transcend DrivePro 220, one of the first dashcams to be commercially marketed in India by a big bran

Facebook heatmap shows the most active Diwali locations in India.
What good is Diwali these days if you don’t post a couple of selfies on Facebook? No wonder then that 21 per cent of the social network’s India monthly active users had some post or engagement on Diwali.
Globally, 45 million unique people had 198 million interactions about Diwali between November 7 and November 11, says a release from Facebook.
Top 5 countries in terms of percent of Monthly Active People (MAP) engagin

CallAmbulance, an emergency mobile application integrated with 108 GVK ambulance service has been launched in Hyderabad by Empower Mobility Solutions Private Limited a Hyderabad based start up, founded by former Infosys senior management executives which also introducted Mobile Health Care Platform doctrz.com.
CallAmbulance was formally launched by Telangana Health Minister Dr. Laxma Reddy and it enables emergency service providers/caregivers to know precisely a patient’s GPS location and

Samsung Gear VR is pre-loaded with more than 20 classic games like Pac-Man, Sonic, Gauntlet (Source: Oculus)
Samsung has announced that its Samsung Gear VR headset for consumers is now available for pre-orders at $99. The device runs on Oculus VR software and will be available on Amazon.com, Samsung.com and BestBuy.com.
According to the Oculus blog, the Gear VR weighs 310 grams, 19 per cent lighter than the Innovator Edition launched earlier. The Gear VR comes with a redesigned touchpad and is

People from different race and religion participated in the campaign and wished for togetherness on the festival of lights.
Majority of Indians wished for iPhone 6s this Diwali, reveals a campaign result by UC Web browser. The web browser conducted ‘Diwali Wishes’ campaign on Facebook and Twitter under #WishWithUC with Yuvraj Singh and received close to 1.5 million responses. Users posted their wishes as a part of ‘#HarGharUCDiwali’ campaign conducted from November 2 to

These are the best smartphones you can buy under Rs 10,000
This Diwali is definitely the best time to buy a smartphone under Rs 10,000 and don’t feel using a underpowered smartphone. The Indian smartphone scenario has changed so rapidly that there are very good smartphone options to consider under Rs 10,000.
Lenovo K3 NoteAt Rs 9,999 budget, Lenovo K3 Note is a very good option. It offers crisp display and a camera that takes nice pictures almost every time.
When it comes to getting a sma

Box brings its file sharing and content management app to Windows 10 (Source: Microsoft)
Box has announced the launch of its enterprise app for Windows 10. With the new app, Box users can access and manage their Box content seamlessly across Windows 10 powered devices.
Box has over 50,000 paid business users which includes some of the Fortune 500 companies and commands over 40 millions users. Box says in a blog post that “It’s critical for Box to ensure that customers can work on th

Android Marshmallow is the latest version of Google’s mobile OS. And while the update is still in the process of being rolled out to many users, we’ve had a chance to try out the new OS thanks to the new Google Nexus 6P.
So what’s new with Android M and is the upgrade really worth the fuss? Here’s our take on the new features.
Google Now on Tap: No doubt this is the most important feature in Android M, the one that gives Google’s mobile OS a gigantic lead over Apple

Alibaba, which accounts for eight per cent of China’s total retail volume, said its total sales on Wednesday far exceeded the 57.1 billion yuan (USD 10 billion) transactions it generated last year.
China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba today created a new record in online sales netting USD 14.33 billion on the annual Singles Day, the world’s biggest online shopping day, with shoppers splurging on a variety of products despite the world’s second biggest economy experiencing it

Redmi 2 and Redmi 2 Prime smartphone users can subscribe to the Mi Protect plan for Rs 275. The plan is available for Rs 499 for Mi 4i, Mi 4 (16GB) smartphones and Mi Pad for Rs 499.
Mi India has announced a security plan, Mi Protect, for its devices, which will cover all accidental and liquid damages. The company will also provide the second servicing free within one year of subscription of the plan.
Users of Xiaomi’s Redmi 2 and Redmi 2 Prime smartphone can subscribe to the Mi Protect p

Redmi 2 and Redmi 2 Prime smartphone users can subscribe to the Mi Protect plan for Rs 275. The plan is available for Rs 499 for Mi 4i, Mi 4 (16GB) smartphones and Mi Pad for Rs 499.
Mi India has announced a security plan, Mi Protect, for its devices, which will cover all accidental and liquid damages. The company will also provide the second servicing free within one year of subscription of the plan.
Users of Xiaomi’s Redmi 2 and Redmi 2 Prime smartphone can subscribe to the Mi Protect p

Redmi 2 and Redmi 2 Prime smartphone users can subscribe to the Mi Protect plan for Rs 275. The plan is available for Rs 499 for Mi 4i, Mi 4 (16GB) smartphones and Mi Pad for Rs 499.
Mi India has announced a security plan, Mi Protect, for its devices, which will cover all accidental and liquid damages. The company will also provide the second servicing free within one year of subscription of the plan.
Users of Xiaomi’s Redmi 2 and Redmi 2 Prime smartphone can subscribe to the Mi Protect p

Facebook said it restricted access in India to 15,155 pieces of content in India
Facebook has disclosed that it received 5,115 request for data from the Indian government concerning a total of 6,268 accounts and some data was produced in at least 45 per cent of the cases. However, the more startling figure is the three-fold jump in number of content pieces taken down, which is the most for any country.
The Global Government Requests Report, released on November 11, is part of Facebook’s &

Facebook said it restricted access in India to 15,155 pieces of content in India
Facebook has disclosed that it received 5,115 request for data from the Indian government concerning a total of 6,268 accounts and some data was produced in at least 45 per cent of the cases. However, the more startling figure is the three-fold jump in number of content pieces taken down, which is the most for any country.
The Global Government Requests Report, released on November 11, is part of Facebook’s &

Facebook said it restricted access in India to 15,155 pieces of content in India
Facebook has disclosed that it received 5,115 request for data from the Indian government concerning a total of 6,268 accounts and some data was produced in at least 45 per cent of the cases. However, the more startling figure is the three-fold jump in number of content pieces taken down, which is the most for any country.
The Global Government Requests Report, released on November 11, is part of Facebook’s &

TalkTalk hack could cost the company up to 35 million pounds but expects the profits to rise (Source: Reuters)
Britain’s TalkTalk put the cost of last month’s cyber attack at 30 million to 35 million pounds ($45.43 million-$53.00 million), and said it was too soon to gauge the impact on customer numbers, although it did see an immediate spike in defections.
Chief Executive Dido Harding said it had been a “challenging time” for the broadband company’s 4 million cust

Apple Music Beta launched on Android with Radio and Connect features (Source: Karthekayan Iyer)
Apple Music has finally arrived on Android after a beta version was released on the Play Store. Apple Music thus becomes the second Android app from the Cupertino based company.
Apple has announced its own music streaming service at its annual developer conference and said the app will be launched on Android too. Apple Music Beta for Android gets most of the features available on its iOS counter

Two years ago, when the creator of the hit mobile game series ”Infinity Blade” joked at the latest iPhone unveiling that the device would boast ”lens flares that would make J.J. Abrams proud,” Chair Entertainment co-founder Donald Mustard was actually making an inside reference to his top-secret collaboration with the ”Star Wars: The Force Awakens” filmmaker.
Abrams’ Bad Robot production company and Chair have been clandestinely working in tandem since 2

Microsoft Corporation may soon be one of the first U.S. cloud-computing companies to let Europeans store their online data closer to home, a response to fears that U.S. data centers are more vulnerable to snooping by the U.S. government.
The company said Wednesday it will give German customers of its online services the option of storing their data in new data centers it plans to build in Germany. The new option will be available in the second half of next year.
European consumers, privacy advoc

Tech giant Apple will resist the British government’s efforts to get access to encrypted data through a new spying law, CEO Tim Cook said Wednesday.
Last week, Britain published a draft law that seeks to ensure that telecommunication companies ”provide wider assistance to law enforcement and the security and intelligence agencies in the interests of national security.”
That worries firms like Apple, whose iMessage service offers ”end-to-end” encryption, meaning the

Mark Zuckerberg attended the wedding in Goa with his wife a few years ago. (Source: Facebook)
It seems the festival spirit has reached Menlo Park.
Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg yesterday put out a post on Diwali, saying he missed being in India for the festival.( function() {var func = function() { var iframe_form = document.getElementById('wpcom-iframe-form-9c77d96809cef5ee69154ad05128148a-564484c6c4292'); var iframe = document.getElementById('wpcom-iframe-9c77d96809cef5ee69154ad051

Mark Zuckerberg attended the wedding in Goa with his wife a few years ago. (Source: Facebook)
It seems the festival spirit has reached Menlo Park.
Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg yesterday put out a post on Diwali, saying he missed being in India for the festival.( function() {var func = function() { var iframe_form = document.getElementById('wpcom-iframe-form-5970f1a7b6b067663adbd497901ecb06-56459ac5388e3'); var iframe = document.getElementById('wpcom-iframe-5970f1a7b6b067663adbd49790

Facebook’s new Notify app for iPhone allows users to share notifications directly from the lockscreen (Source: Facebook)
Facebook Inc said on Wednesday it launched its news app Notify for iPhone users in the United States, featuring content from media partners such as Fox News, Washington Post and CBS.
The app allows user to share notifications directly from the lock screen and includes a broad selection of “stations” across different categories such as sports, fashion and bre

Facebook: India and Turkey were responsible for most of the content taken down for violating local laws. India had 15,155 pieces of content restricted – nearly triple the amount in the second half of 2014 – while Turkey had 4,496, up from 3,624. (Reuters)
Facebook Inc said content restrictions and government requests for data surged in the first half of 2015, which the social network has seen continually increase since it began publicly releasing such data two years ago.
Government r

Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s official Twitter handle was briefly hacked today.
A tweet promoting a product was posted on her official Twitter handle – @CimGOI.
Few of her followers alerted the minister about the tweet.
“Thanks for alerting on the possible hacking…We are having it looked into. Thanks again,” the minister said in her tweet.
The promotional tweet was later taken down.