Micromax expanded its Bharat line of affordable smartphones today with the new Micromax Bharat 5, which is priced at Rs. 5.555. The main feature of this model is the 5000mAh battery. It is designed to appeal to users in smaller towns where the power supply is erratic. It has a 5.2-inch 720×1280 display, an unspecified quad-core processor, 1 GB of RAM, and 16 GB of storage. The front and rear cameras of the Micromax Bharat 5 have 5-megapixel sensors. Micromax has partnered with Vodafone to offer 10GB of data every month for five months for free to new and existing Vodafone subscribers, as long as they have at least a 1GB package. The Micromax Bharat 5 is only sold offline and may prove popular with its intended audience.
The Nokia 2 has a 5-inch 720×1280 display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 212 processor, 1 GB RAM, 8 GB storage, an 8-megapixel rear camera, 5-megapixel front camera and a 4100 mAh battery. Nokia 2 goes on sale in the US, and Nokia 6 gets a software update, and B&H. All three list only the black option with no carrier subsidies or restrictions, priced at $99 (about 6,390, compared to the official price of Rs. 6,999 in India).
Nokia has also just released an OTA software update for the mid-range Nokia 6, which claims to improve performance and stability and introduces some UI tweaks. While it’s not the expected Android Oreo update, it does include November’s Android security patches.
Airtel’s New Data PacksThe mobile tariff wars continue, and Airtel has rolled out its latest attack, a new Rs. 199 recharge package for prepaid users that gives them unlimited local and national calls and texts, unlimited incoming calls while roaming, and 1 GB 3G/4G data per day during the validity period of 28 days. Only subscribers in Chennai, Delhi NCR, Mumbai, and Karnataka can purchase this pack. The move comes shortly after Vodafone launched a similar package for Rs. 199. There are also reports of an Rs. 157 package that gives users 3GB of data for 27 days, although it has yet to appear on Airtel’s website.
Mukesh Ambani of Jio on the competition and more Mukesh Ambani, President of Reliance Industries, spoke at a leadership summit in New Delhi and discussed mobile broadband penetration in India and around the world. He stated that India is now No. 1 for mobile broadband, up from 150 last year, and that Indians now consume more data than people in the US and China, and attributed both changes to the launch of Reliance Jio. However, he denied that Jio had anything to do with the losses reported by competitors, most notably Bharti Airtel, calling the situation part of the normal business risks. Even if there have been business losses, he said, it’s more important to consider how much consumers have gained. He also claimed that access to mobile data would enable India to triple its GDP in the next ten years. Ambani states, “The foundation of this revolution is connectivity, computing, data, and artificial intelligence.”
Top Movies, Music, and Apps Revealed by GoogleGoogle has released its annual list of the most popular books, games, movies, TV shows, and songs of 2017. In India, Photo Editor – Beauty Camera & Photo Filters was the most popular trending app and the most popular app. and Messenger Lite. Baahubali: The Game was the most popular game on Google Play, while Saahore Baahubali, by MM Keeravaani, was the most streamed song. Karan Johar’s An Unsuitable Boy was the most popular book, and Dear Zindagi took first place for movies. Worldwide, Super Mario Run topped the list of games, Kendrick Lamar’s Humble was the most streamed song, Moana was the best movie, Game of Thrones was the best TV show, and The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson was the most popular book.
Twitter Lite launched Twitter has rolled out its Twitter Lite app, which promises lower data usage, in 24 new markets where it sees the cost of mobile data as a drag on growth. It also works offline and loads quickly on low-power Android phones. The app was previously tried out in the Philippines, and unfortunately, India is not on the list of 24 new countries in which Twitter Lite is now available. According to the company, Twitter Lite users are more engaged than before.
Avengers: Infinity War India release date India is one of a few countries where Marvel will screen its next Avengers movie a week before its regular worldwide release. The highly anticipated Avengers: Infinity War will be screened in India on April 27, but it won’t be the world’s first, as a few countries will have screenings on April 25 and 26. The massive superhero movie won’t be released in the US until May 4. The strategy aims to increase revenue in global markets, which now account for over two-thirds of Marvel’s total revenue from its massive tentpole films.
Alexa Moves to Enterprise Amazon has announced that its Alexa voice assistant can now handle a wide variety of routine office tasks, positioning the Echo range of smart speakers and a host of third-party Alexa devices as office assistants. Alexa can help users join conference calls, coordinate meetings, schedule appointments, and even order products from Amazon. Echo or other devices are anchored to a corporate account rather than to everyone’s account and can be shared by multiple colleagues. Employees can also link their devices at home to a business Alexa service.
Is Apple working on its power management chips? Apple seems to continue consolidating microprocessors’ production for its various devices and bringing design and development activities in-house. A recent report suggests the company is working on a new line of power management chips for future iPhones, rather than the ones currently coming from Dialog Semiconductor. It is said that Apple hopes to integrate better its hardware and software, which may also improve battery life.
Microsoft Edge for iOS, Android out of beta Microsoft has publicly released its Edge browser for Android and iOS devices after a short beta testing period. You can now download Microsoft Edge from the iOS App Store or Google Play Store for Android. Users who choose to download it can sync browsing sessions, bookmarks, passwords, and settings on their smartphones and Windows PCs. It’s available in a limited number of languages for now, but the company has plans to expand globally.
