The Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A was finally unveiled in China and will go on sale from Tuesday through Mi.com and JD.com. The first smartphone in the Note 5 series to follow on from last year’s popular Note 4 line, it comes in two versions: Standard Edition and High Edition with a total of three RAM and memory variants. The base version of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A with 2GB RAM and 16GB storage costs CNY 699 (about Rs. 6,700). The other two premium versions cost CNY 899 (about Rs. 8,600) for 3GB and 32GB storage, and CNY 1,199 (almost Rs. 11,500) for 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. The 3 GB RAM and 32 GB variant and the 4 GB version with 64 GB come with fingerprint sensors while the base model of the Redmi Note 5A does not.
All three Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A editions are available in Champagne Gold, Rose Gold and Platinum Silver colors. Common features include a 5.5-inch HD (720×1280) display and a Snapdragon 425 SoC and an Adreno 308 GPU. Internal storage is expandable up to 128GB. There is a 13-megapixel rear sensor with support for LED flash, PDAF, f/2.2 aperture, HDR mode and real-time filters. On the front, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A has a 5 megapixel selfie camera with f/2.0 aperture. It contains a 3080mAh battery with a capacity of 35 hours of talk time and 11 days of standby time. The dimensions of the base model of the smartphone are 153×76.2×7.5 mm and it weighs 150 grams. Connectivity options on the Redmi Note 5A include 4G, Bluetooth v4.2, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct and GPS + GLONASS. Onboard sensors include infrared, gyro, acceleration, distance, ambient light and compass.
OnePlus 5 8GB RAM Slate Gray variant now available in IndiaAfter launching the Soft Gold version of the OnePlus 5, OnePlus has now made the Slate Gray OnePlus 5 8GB RAM available in India through the Amazon India OnePlus Super Seller Week from Monday 21 August to Friday, August 25. It is also available through oneplusstore.in. Previously, the only way to get your hands on a Slate Gray OnePlus 5 was if you went for the 6GB/64GB version.
As part of the OnePlus Super Seller Week, Amazon India is offering deals on Cleartrip, additional Rs. 2,000 off exchange (up to Rs. 22,700 on exchange), 3 to 6 months No Cost EMI options on credit cards and Rs. 1,500 Amazon Cash back when using American Express card or Amazon Gift Card. Vodafone offers free 75GB of 4G data and three months of free Vodafone Play when you buy the OnePlus 5 model. And finally, there is also a free 12 month accidental damage insurance, courtesy of Kotak 811.
Intel 8th Generation Core Series LaunchedIntel’s Coffee Lake CPUs were expected to be the first variant of the 8th Generation Core CPUs. This is not the case. In anticipation of this is the Kaby Lake Refresh. Four new U-series 15W laptop processors have been announced: the Core i7-8650U, Core i7-8550U, Core i5-8350U and Core i5-8250U. While Kaby Lake Refresh isn’t a major new architecture, Intel promises a 40 percent performance improvement over the 7th generation and up to 200 percent over a five-year-old machine. The main reason for this is the doubling of the number of cores from two to four, while actual design and manufacturing improvements contribute to a lesser extent.
Speeds range from 1.6 GHz to 1.9 GHz, with boost speeds from 3.4 GHz to 4.2 GHz. Cache sizes have also doubled, to 6MB on Core i5 CPUs and 8MB on Core i7 models. Hyper-Threading remains exclusive to Core i7 models. The integrated GPU is now called Intel UHD Graphics 620 and is completely unchanged compared to Kaby Lake, except for the name change from HD to UHD to reflect its capabilities. The GPUs of Core i5 models run at 1.1 GHz, while those of the Core i7 models run at 1.15 GHz.
Xiaomi is reportedly working with Google on Android One smartphone Xiaomi may launch a version of its Mi 5X smartphone dubbed the Xiaomi A1 featuring Google’s Android One experience. According to a recent report, the smartphone manufacturer is working with Google on an Android One smartphone. Since Google has not yet made its own Android offering available to buyers on a budget, this partnership could help the company achieve the goals of the Android One project: a range of low-cost smartphones that deliver a stock Android experience with timely updates.
In the past, Google has typically partnered with entry-level OEMs such as Micromax and Karbonn, launching affordable smartphones with a standard Android user interface. Interestingly, the Android One was a project that first launched in India in 2014, around the same time that Xiaomi launched the Mi 3. But the Android One devices have failed to bring in the numbers as Google probably would have liked.
Gionee X1 with 4G VoLTE support launched in IndiaGionee has launched the Gionee X1 smartphone in India. Powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6737 SoC, 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage. There is a 5-inch HD (720×1280 pixels) IPS display, a 3000mAh battery, a dedicated microSD slot and also a fingerprint sensor. The smartphone has an 8-megapixel rear camera with flash, in addition to an 8-megapixel front camera. Launch offers on the Gionee X1 include up to 10 GB of additional data per month for 6 consecutive top-ups. Separately, Gionee X1 buyers will be given two Patym voucher codes entitling them to Rs. 250 cash back on a minimum purchase of Rs. 350 at Paytm Mall. The Gionee X1 is available in black and gold.
Nokia 6 registrations close for Wednesday sale The Nokia 6 will go on sale in India for the first time on August 23. It is exclusive to Amazon India. In the run-up to that, the company has set up a registration window that will close today. The sale will start at 12 noon IST on Wednesday and the Nokia 6 can be bought for Rs. 14,999. It will be available while supplies last and those wishing to pick it up will need to be online one hour before launch to fill in our credit card details and address details for a smooth checkout.
The Nokia 6 managed to get more than a million registrations two weeks ago, and many more have probably been added since then. Amazon India has a number of launch offers including a Rs. 1,000 cash back for Prime members who use Amazon Pay balance to make the purchase.
In addition, all Nokia 6 customers who sign up with the Kindle app will get an 80 percent discount on Kindle eBooks up to Rs. 300. MakeMyTrip is offering Rs. 2,500 discount for Nokia 6 buyers (Rs. 1800 for hotels and Rs. 700 for flights), and finally Vodafone is offering 45 GB of additional 4G data for free for five months. This offer is valid until August 31st and 9 GB of data will be added to any top-up of 1 GB and above with a validity of five months for the additional data.
Replacement screens with malicious chips can be used to control your phone. It seems that replacing your smartphone or tablet screen can give hackers control over your device. Israel’s Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has discovered that by installing specific chips under a third-party screen, keyboard input logging, installation of malicious apps, taking pictures and emailing them without the user’s knowledge is possible. The university research team was able to hack into a Huawei Nexus 6P and LG G Pad 7.0 using such malicious chips, which also allowed them to exploit vulnerabilities in the kernel of their operating system.
Apple’s Search for a Talented Engineer Revealed in Secret Job Vacant Apple appears to be looking for a “talented engineer.” How talented you ask? Well, good enough to find a hidden Apple page that’s part of the eligibility process. The page, now removed, was a listing for an engineer to work with a small team, although it will come with resources from a large company.
“Hello there! You’ve found us. We’re looking for a talented engineer to develop a critical infrastructure component that will become an important part of the Apple ecosystem,” the page read.
“Experience in designing, deploying and supporting highly scalable applications and web services. Comfortable working with Java 8. Familiarity with modern server technologies and familiarity with ideas for distributed systems,” the post continued.
Xbox One X Pre-Orders Now Live; Xbox One X Project Scorpio Edition Console AnnouncedAfter its official reveal at E3 2017, Xbox One X pre-orders are finally available. Microsoft announced this along with the Xbox One X Project Scorpio Edition console. While both the Xbox One X and Xbox One X Project Scorpio Edition share the same internal parts and the same $499 (almost Rs. 32,000) price tag, the latter features sports aesthetics and design sensibilities that hark back to the original Xbox released in 2001 and is in limited supply. However, there is no news about Indian pre-orders or a local release date yet. If you want to pre-order the Xbox One X in India, this guide can help.
