Xiaomi Mi 5s With Snapdragon 821, 6GB of RAM

Xiaomi Mi 5s With Snapdragon 821, 6GB of RAM Spotted

Xiaomi seems to be gearing to launch a beefed-up version of the Mi 5 flagship smartphone. Dubbed Mi 5s, the handset has been leaked tipping the complete innards. The biggest improvement touted in the new alleged Xiaomi Mi 5s is that it packs a Snapdragon 821 processor clocked at 2.4GHz. To recall, theMi 5 was powered by the Snapdragon 820 processor.

Other improvements claimed by an alleged image of Xiaomi Mi 5s listing include 6GB of RAM and 3490mAh battery. The handset is also said to pack massive 256GB of inbuilt storage. Other specifications include 144.5x69.2x7.2mm and weighs 147 grams. The alleged Mi 5s is seen packing a USB Type-C. On the camera front, the handset is seen packing a 16-megapixel rear camera and a 4-megapixel front camera. The Xiaomi Mi 5s is also expected to support 4K video recording. Xiaomi Mi 5s to sport a 5.15-inch full-HD display and comes with a 3D Touch feature. The dual-SIM device will support GPRS/ EDGE, 3G, 4G, and VoLTE apart from NFC connectivity option. The handset is said to measure 144.5x69.2x7.2mm and weigh 147 grams which means it will be heavier than the original Mi 5 that weighed just 129 grams.

Of course, as with all rumours and leaks, we advise readers to take the above information about the alleged Xiaomi Mi 5s with a pinch of salt, as Xiaomi has yet to make any announcements about its new flagship smartphone and the credibility of the sources cannot be independently verified.

Earlier on Monday, a third-party online retailer was reported to be selling a new "Extreme" version of the Mi 5 in China. Priced at CNY 1,999 (approximately Rs. 20,000), the new Mi 5 "Extreme" version came with overclocked processor, GPU, and RAM.

ChampOne C1 Registrations Open

ChampOne C1 Registrations Open but Is This Mobile the New Freedom 251?

ChampOne, an unknown company, has listed a Rs. 501 smartphone called ChampOne C1 on its website, with registrations for the first flash scheduled for September 2 now open. Well, sort of.

After the listing went viral on Monday, the company updated its website to say "only existing customers are eligible for flash sale" - what that means for a company with no other products is anybody's guess. The website looks shady at best, and the registration button is inactive. The company has put out a disclaimer citing "payment gateway" difficulties, and says that registrations won't work for the next 24 hours. However, it says that the smartphone will be sold through the 'Cash On Delivery Option' so we don't see why they even need a payment gateway. Some reports point to a registration fee, which in itself seems fishy.

The Jodhpur-based company has listed a toll free number, and two other phone support numbers. All our calls went unanswered, while one of the numbers was switched off. ChampOne appears to be one of the numerous startups that have recently started sprouting up in India, looking to make headlines by launching smartphones at incredible prices.

The first amongst the spate of firms was Ringing Bells with its Freedom 251, and while the company isfinally delivering its first smartphones, other firms appear to have fizzled out before launch. We advise all readers to stay away from deals that seem too good to be true from brand new companies without a service history or a reputation to lose.

In any case, the ChampOne C1 runs on Android 5.1 Lollipop and supports dual-SIM. It features a 5-inch HD (720x1280 pixels) IPS display, and is powered by a 1.3GHz MediaTek MT6735 quad-core processor with 2GB RAM. It offers 16GB of inbuilt storage. Optics include an 8-megapixel back camera, and a 5-megapixel front snapper. There's a 2500mAh battery packed inside, and connectivity options include 4G LTE support. It will be made available in White, Silver, and Gold colour options.

Of course, the glitching website reminds us of the horrible inefficiency by Ringing Bells when it first announced its smartphone. The company hadn't 'anticipated the demand' for its. Rs 251 smartphone, and is still struggling to meet demands. The company first claimed that it was backed by the government and was part of the Make in India campaign, only to retrace its footsteps and mention that it was importing assembled smartphones, and has asked the government for support. The company was also accused of defrauding its customer service partner by refusing to pay dues. After too many delays, the company even tried to make amends by saying that it will refund the money of first phase's 30,000 Freedom 251 customers - and will accept cash upon delivery.

Another company that made headlines recently for what were found to be fraudulent tactics was mPhone, which was all set to announce its smartphone portfoliio in the country. However, those plans came to a grinding halt, after the co-founders were arrested at the launch venue for alleged fraudulent activities. The company was set to launch six smartphones in the country ranging from Rs. 11,999 to Rs. 39,999, but we haven't heard of anything post their arrest.

Also, let's not forget the Docoss X1 launched by a Jaipur-based company for Rs. 888. Their website itself was extremely fishy, with many technical goof-ups. Their customer care support also proved to be very vague. The smartphone was to begin shipping in May, but it still hasn't managed to do that yet. The website currently mentions that the smartphone will be shipped soon.

Commercialize Self-Driving Cars From Google

Alphabet Inc's Google self-driving car project took a step closer to market with the hire of a top executive from Airbnb, the online vacation home rental marketplace.

Shaun Stewart is joining Google as a director of the self-driving car project, spokesman Johnny Luu said on Friday.

Stewart's role will be to help commercialize Google's self-driving technology, which has been in development for more than seven years and has seen an increased pace of activity over the last 12 months.
Stewart's hiring follows the departure earlier this month of Chris Urmson, chief technical officer of the project. Urmson was the project's team leader and chief public spokesman until ex-Hyundai executive John Krafcik was hired by Google in 2015 as the project's CEO.
Urmson last year predicted that Google's self-driving technology would be ready for production by 2020, and said Google was actively seeking partners among global automakers.
Stewart is an experienced technology executive specializing in building and scaling businesses. He joins Google from Airbnb where he set up the company's vacation rentals business. Prior to that, he was chief executive of Jetsetter, a company that was acquired by TripAdvisor.
Stewart will report to Krafcik, whose recent hires include Kevin Vosen, the project's first general counsel, and Tim Papandreou, a former San Francisco city official and expert in transportation policy. 
Over the past 12 months, Google has expanded to four cities, signed a collaboration with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to double its fleet of autonomous vehicles and opened an engineering tech center in Michigan.
Google currently has almost 60 test vehicles on the road and has driven 1.8 million miles autonomously.

Redmi 3s and Redmi 3s Prime up for grabs today at 12 noon

Xiaomi flash sale: Redmi 3s and Redmi 3s Prime up for grabs today at 12 noon

Xiaomi, known for its flash sales, will put up the Redmi 3s and Redmi 3s Prime on sale today at 12 noon. Priced at Rs 6,999 and Rs 8,999 respectively, both devices will be available via Flipkart.

The Redmi 3s features 2GB RAM and comes with 16GB onboard storage, while the Redmi 3s Prime comes equipped with 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage. Both come with 5-inch HD display, 13MP rear snapper, 5MP front-facing camera, Android Marshmallow and 4100mAh battery. The device packs in Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 octa-core processor and memory expandable up to 128GB.

Priced at Rs 8,999 the 3s Prime comes very close to the base variant of the Redmi Note 3, but Xiaomi has positioned the Redmi series as a device for users who don’t require a lot of power at their disposal. On the other hand, the Redmi 3s which ditches the fingerprint scanner and has 16GB of storage and 2GB of RAM is also great value for money.

It was just yesterday that Xiaomi said its smartphone sales in India have grown by 72 percent. “We entered India in July 2014 and disrupted the smartphone industry with high-quality devices. We have since then seen an incredible growth rate of 72 per cent year-on-year (July 2014 to July 2016) in terms of smartphone sales,” Xiaomi India head Manu Jain had said.

It claimed to have shipped 880,000 units of the Redmi Note 3 in the online channel in the April-June quarter of 2016. However, declined to comment on the total number of handsets sold by the company in India.

Mi 5, gets a price cut

Xiaomi's most expensive smartphone in India, Mi 5, gets a price cut.

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has slashed the price of its flagship smartphone Mi 5 in India. Launched at Rs 24,999, the smartphone is now available at Rs 22,999 (post a discount of Rs 2,000).

Xiaomi India head Manu Jaintweeted that the smartphone has got a price cut and is now available on Flipkart and on the company's official website mi.com at the new price.

Xiaomi launched the Mi 5 in March this year. The smartphone is the company's most expensive handset launched in India so far.

As for specifications, Xiaomi Mi 5 flaunts a 5.15-inch full HD display with 1920x1080 pixels resolution. The handset runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system and is powered by a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor. The device offers 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage.

The smartphone comes with dual sim functionality and also incorporates a fingerprint and infrared sensor. For photography, the handset comes equipped with a 16MP rear camera with dual tone LED flash and a 4MP front facing camera.

Indian Railways approves C-DOT gears for wi-fi services

Wi-fi technology of state-run Centre for Development of Telematics (CDOT) has been approved by Indian Railways, Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha said today. "C-DoT Wi-Fi Technology got approved by Railways," Sinha tweeted.

Indian Railway is rolling out free wi-fi service at busy stations. It has plans to roll out Google supported free wi-fi service at 100 stations by end of this year and 400 by the end of next year. Most of the equipment installed in Indian telecom network are imported. Approval of C-DoT wi-fi equipment will help deployment of indigenously made gears.

The Minister, who presided over the 44th meeting of the C-DoT Governing council, also directed the company to think in terms of 5G technology and asked the state-run telecom solutions developer to consider and recruit the best brains. "In 44th meeting of C-DoT Governing Council, directed C-DoT to think about 5G. Directed C-DoT to consider recruit & retain best brains with better salary & perks," Sinha said.

Android 7.0 Nougat update starts rolling out worldwide

The Android 7.0 Nougat OS version has finally moved out of beta and has started rolling out to general users. Search giant Google announced the same on its official blog post.

The new Android OS version will reach the Nexus 6, Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Nexus 9, Nexus Player, Pixel C and General Mobile 4G (Android One). The OTA (Over The Air) update will be incremental and will take some time to hit all the devices depending on the region and carriers. Google also adds that the LG V20 will be the first non-Google smartphone to come with Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box. Those devices enrolled for Android Beta programme will also receive the final consumer version.The rollout of Android 7.0 Nougat ahead of Google's usual time frame is surprising. With the new OS version hitting the existing Nexus devices within days, the upcoming Nexus models seems to have lost their key selling point.
The company explained that it invited developers for the new OS in March this year so that they could bring their apps to the new platform earlier. "And of course we asked you to help us come up with names for this year's release, resulting in lots of great ideas, and a delicious unveiling back in June," said Sameer Samat, VP of product management, Android & Google Play on the blog post.To lets users take a deeper look at what the Android 7.0 Nougat is all about, Google has also created a dedicated website for the OS, showcasing some of its key new features. The website talks about improvements made in the field of smartphone performance, battery & data, notifications, security, productivity, accessibility and more in the Android Nougat.The new OS version will bring 'smart notification management' and replying options, 72 new Emoji characters, multi-window view with quick switching between apps, better 3D graphic performance with Vulkan API, new Virtual Reality mode for Daydream-supporting handsets, improved battery-saving Doze feature, data saving feature, display size adjustment, and file-based encryption for better security among others.T.O.I