Our phones have become an extension of ourselves. You need your smartphone for doing everything – from ordering food from your favourite restaurant to replying to work emails, your phone has got your back for almost everything you do.

But if you are on a budget, here are some of the best phones out there, even if you are on a budget of less than Rs 15000.

1. Redmi Y3

This phone features Redmi’s signature gradient design. The 32MP front facing camera is great for taking selfies and the 4000mAh battery goes a whole day without charging.

Biggest draw of buying the phone: Redmi’s signature gradient design makes the phone super stylish.

Key Specifications of Redmi Y3

Display: 6.26-inch 

Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 632
Front Camera: 32MP
Rear Camera: 12MP + 2MP

RAM: 4GB
Storage: 64GB
Battery: 4000mAh
OS: Android 9 Pie

2. Motorola One Action

The phone earns its name thanks to the 16MP ultra-wide sensor on the rear, which serves as an in-built video camera, which lets you record videos vertically and play them back in action mode. Motorola also has a decent battery life and processor.

Biggest draw of buying the phone: The camera on this phone is great for taking videos.

Key Specifications of Motorola One Action

Display: 6.3-inch 

Processor: Exynos 9609
Front Camera: 12MP
Rear Camera: 12MP + 5MP + 16MP

RAM: 4GB
Storage: 64GB
Battery: 3500mAh
OS: Android 9 Pie

3. Vivo Z1Pro

The phone is a first of its kind — it has a punch hole notch on its front that doubles up as the front camera. But with a staggering 5000mAh battery life, and a triple rear camera set up, you will be hard pressed to find a phone with these features on a budget smartphone list.

Biggest draw of buying the phone: The battery life of this phone is brilliant, it will last you all day.

Key Specifications of Vivo Z1Pro

Display: 6.53-inch 

Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 712
Front Camera: 32MP
Rear Camera: 16MP + 8MP + 2MP

RAM: 4GB
Storage: 64GB
Battery: 5000mAh
OS: Android 9 Pie

4. Samsung Galaxy M20

Samsung Galaxy M20 is the first in the line of budget smartphones, and is a take on the more affordable Galaxy smartphones.
It has a large battery, smooth performance and an affordable price point put it in the top 5 budget smartphones list.

Biggest draw of buying the phone: Samsung always offers above average sound quality.

Key Specifications of Samsung Galaxy M20

Display: 6.53-inch 

Processor: Exynos 7904
Front Camera: 8MP
Rear Camera: 13MP + 5MP

RAM: 4GB
Storage: 64GB
Battery: 5000mAh
OS: Android Oreo v8.1

5. Real Me 3 Pro

Real Me 3 Pro is the best phone out there in the market for gamers. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 processor makes sure that the phone doesn’t get heated when you are playing PUBG for hours and also doesn’t lag and stop your game. The main camera takes really detailed pictures in natural light and is great for macro photography.

Biggest draw of buying the phone: Doesn’t lag during gaming.

Key Specifications of Realme 3 Pro

Display: 6.30-inch
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 710
Front Camera: 25MP
Rear Camera: 16MP + 5MP

RAM: 6GB
Storage: 128GB
Battery: 4045mAh
OS: Android 9 Pie

Now that you know which phone that you want, you have to think if it fits into your budget.
If you are having problems financing your phone, you can think about getting a mobile loan without credit card.

A mobile loan without credit card will help you save your salary, and keep your savings intact so that you can buy your phones on an easy monthly investment.

Now that you know which phone that you want, you have to think if it fits into your budget. If you are having problems financing your phone, you can think about getting a mobile loan without credit card.

Mobile image credit- Mi, Motorola, Vivo, Samsung, Real Me

Hong Kong-based mobile brand, iVOOMi, has launched iVOOMi iPro in Indian market to expand its product portfolio at a price tag of just INR 3,999. The smartphone is said to be India’s first FullView (18:9) smartphone which is Flipkart exclusive available from today i.e. September 20.

On this smartphone purchase, Reliance Jio customers will receive a cashback of INR 2,200 on the smartphone purchase which will be credited after recharge with INR 198 or INR 299 prepaid pack.

Key Specifications of iVOOMi iPro

1. iVOOMi iPro features a 4.95 inch FWVGA+ Full View display with 18:9 screen ratio, Shatterproof
2. Powered by a 1.3 GHz quad-core MTK 6737 processor
3. Android Oreo 8.1 (Go edition) on top of Smart Me OS 3.0, GPU-Mali-T720
4. 1 GB RAM paired with 8 GB internal storage (expanded up to 128GB using the micro SD card)
5. 5-megapixel selfie camera at the front and a 5-megapixel rear camera with soft flash
6. Smartphone comes with facial recognition technology
7. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, USB OTG, 3G and 4G (with support for Band 40 used by some LTE networks in India)
8. Proximity sensor and gravity sensor are the sensors available on the device
9. Backed by a 2000 mAh battery and Dual SIM
10. Platinum Gold, Indie Blue and Matte Red color option/variants
11. Supports multiple audio formats, such as AAC, AMR, mp3 and WAV

Ashwin Bhandari, CEO, iVOOMi India, said on the launch of the smartphone, “After due diligence, and an extensive research, we realized that there is an ever-growing demand for entry level smartphones in the country. iVOOMi iPro has been designed keeping in mind the aspirations of a typical smartphone buyer in India who wants to own the best of technology without burning a hole in his pocket. This includes users who are switching from feature phones to smartphones but have a budget constraint. Bringing latest technology at the most competitive prices has been the core vision of the company. With this, we also decided to bring back our much-adored Shatterproof Display coupled with the in-demand AR Emoji.”

Ayyappan Rajagopal, Senior Director – Mobiles, Flipkart, said, “We at Flipkart are excited to have the latest Android Go phone iPro from iVOOMi on our platform. This is a wonderful addition to our suite of products in the sub 10K segment and has truly democratized technology for the masses. This is in line with our overall objective of ensuring everyone in India has access to great smartphone technology at every price point.”

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Samsung Electronics Co. and Internet giant Google Inc. are working together to offer improved messaging experiences to allow users to engage in group chats and video calls and transfer large files without the need for additional apps. The move comes at a time when many people are opting to use popular messaging apps, such as WhatsApp and WeChat instead of traditional SMS messaging.

As per the reports and Samsung mobile press release, in this collaboration, Android Messages and Samsung Messages will work together seamlessly, and it will boost coverage of Rich Communication Services (RCS), an upgrade to the SMS messaging system.

The South Korean tech giant said it would work to bring RCS features to existing mobile phones beginning with the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus. It also said its new Galaxy smartphones will natively support RCS messaging, starting with those on a set of carriers that have or will soon launch RCS.

“By furthering our robust partnership with Google, we will bring a richer messaging experience to our customers, letting them seamlessly chat with their friends and family across messaging platforms,” Patrick Chomet, Executive Vice President at Samsung’s Mobile Communications Business, said in comments posted on the website of Samsung Mobile Press on Wednesday.

“This collaboration will help further the industry’s momentum toward advanced messaging and global RCS coverage.”

Anil Sabharwal, Vice President for Communications Products and Photos at Google, said, “Our partnership will further advance our shared vision of a substantially improved messaging experience on Android for users, brands and the broader Android ecosystem.”

What is Rich Communication Services (RCS)

Rich Communication Services (RCS) messaging is the next evolution of SMS Text Messaging (sendmode[dot]com/what-is-rcs-messaging). With Google announcing the expansion of its RCS and the rolling out an Early Access Program for the service and Android Messages application will replace the current native messaging app for android – which will be powered by the Jibe RCS Cloud. Rich Communication Services is the communication between mobile carriers and between phone and carrier. It is aiming to replacing SMS messaging with a text-message system that is richer and more interactive to the user. Similar to Apples iMessage system, RCS will offer group chat, high-resolution photo sharing, read receipts etc.

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Samsung inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas and technologies. The company is redefining the worlds of TVs, smartphones, wearable devices, tablets, digital appliances, network systems, and memory, system LSI, foundry and LED solutions.

About Google LLC.

Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. Through products and platforms like Search, Maps, Gmail, Android, Google Play, Chrome and YouTube, Google plays a meaningful role in the daily lives of billions of people and has become one of the most widely-known companies in the world. Google is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc.

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Samsung Mobile India launched four smartphones in its Galaxy A and Galaxy J series which all features Samsung’s flagship ‘Infinity Display’ offering an almost bezel-less-like feel with 18:5:9 aspect ratio.

The all four new smartphones also run on Android Oreo operating system. While the all-new Samsung Galaxy A6+ and A6 feature a metal unibody design, the Galaxy J8 and J6 come with a polycarbonate body.

Samsung Galaxy A6+ and A6 specifications

Samsung Galaxy A6 and A6+ feature a similar spec-sheet with differences in processor, display size, battery and rear camera. The Galaxy A6+ is powered by a Snapdragon 450 processor while the A6 is powered by an Exynos 7870 SoC.

The smaller Galaxy A6 comes with a 5.6-inch HD+ Super AMOLED Infinity Display with 18:5:9 aspect ratio, the Galaxy A6+ has a 6-inch display with the same resolution.

The Galaxy A6 comes with a 16MP rear camera with f/1.7 aperture while the bigger A6+ has a dual-lens setup with a 16MP primary sensor with f/1.7 aperture and a 5MP secondary sensor with f/1.9 aperture.

There is a 16MP front camera on the A6 while the Galaxy A6+ has a 24MP selfie camera.

The smaller Galaxy A6 is powered by a 3,000mAh battery while the Galaxy A6+ has a 3,500mAh battery.

Both the smartphones have 4GB of RAM. The Galaxy A6 comes in 32GB and 64GB internal storage options. There is support for microSD cards of up to 256GB.

The main feature on both the phones in their Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered camera module.

Samsung Galaxy J8 and J6 specifications

The Galaxy J8 is powered by a Snapdragon 450 processor while the smaller Galaxy J6 features an Exynos 7870 processor. While the smaller J6 comes with a 5.6-inch HD+ Super AMOLED Infinity Display with 18:5:9 aspect ratio, the Galaxy J8 has a 6-inch display with the same resolution.

The Galaxy J6 comes with a 13MP rear camera with f/1.9 aperture while the bigger J8 has a dual-lens setup with a 16MP primary sensor with f/1.7 aperture and a 5MP secondary sensor with f/1.9 aperture.

There is an 8MP front camera on the J6 while the Galaxy J8 has a 16MP selfie camera.

The smaller Galaxy J6 is be powered by a 3,000mAh battery while the Galaxy J8 has a 3,500mAh battery.

The Galaxy J8 has 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage that can be expanded to up to 256GB. On the other hand, the Galaxy J6 comes in two variants, Galaxy J6 with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage and 4G RAM and 64GB storage version.

There is support for microSD card of up to 256GB on both.

Samsung Galaxy A6+, A6, J8, J6 prices and availability

1. Samsung Galaxy A6+ – priced at Rs 25,990
2. Smasung Galaxy A6 – comes in two storage variants (both with 4GB RAM) – 32GB storage at Rs 21,990 and 64GB storage costs Rs 22,990
3. Galaxy J8 – costs Rs 18,990
4. Samsung Galaxy J6 comes in two RAM and storage variant, Galaxy J6 with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage costs Rs 13,990 while the 4G RAM and 64GB storage version is priced at Rs 16,490

The Samsung Galaxy J6, A6 and A6+ will be available across retail stores and Samsung eshop website from May 22. The Galaxy J6 will also be available on Flipkart while the Galaxy A6 and A6+ will also be available on Amazon starting May 22. The Galaxy J8 will be available from July 2018. The devices will also be available on PayTM Mall. All the four devices will be available in Blue, Black and Gold color options.

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Chinese smartphone maker, Xiaomi, is all set to launch a new smartphone for the Indian and Chinese market in its Redmi series of budget Android smartphones the Redmi S2.

Redmi S2 will be launched today in China and later on in coming days it will be launched in India as well though there is no official word from Xiaomi about the India launch of the Redmi S2.

Redmi S2 Price

1. 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage is expected to be priced at CNY 1,000, which roughly translates to Rs 10,500
2. 3GB RAM + 32GB storage is expected to cost under Rs 12,000
3. 4GB RAM and 64GB storage version – no price specifications found anywhere but expected to be priced under Rs 15,000

Redmi S2 Specifications

As per Chinese certification agency TENAA and the Chinese e-commerce major AliExpress-

1. 5.99-inch HD+ display with 18:9 aspect ratio
2. Resolution of 720 x 1440 pixels
3. Android 8.1 Oreo-powered MIUI 9 interface
4. Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor and Adreno 506 GPU
5. 16MP front camera with portrait mode
6. Dual-lens camera setup with a 12MP primary sensor and a 5MP secondary sensor as the rear camera
7. 3,080 mAh battery
8. Weigh 170 grams
9. Rose Gold, Pink, Red, White, Black and Silver color options

Xiaomi India’s Mi Home Experience Store in Delhi

In an expansion drive and to lure customers for its future products, Xiaomi India has opened its Mi Home Experience Stores. After launching one in Chennai and Mumbai each, the company has launched one in Delhi as well.

The aim to open these Home Experience Stores to displays a variety of smart products available in the international market along with the offerings launched in the country to the customers.

These Home Experience store displays smartphones, TV, router and accessories along with Mi Laptops, Mi Cycle, Mi Robot, Mi Home Thermostat Electric Kettle, Mi Electric Scooter, Mi Rice Cooker, Mi Smart Shoes, Ninebot Mini, and many others.

Such stores help Xiaomi to get the feedback from the customers that again helps the company to understand consumer interest and plan future launches accordingly.

Manu Jain, Vice President, Xiaomi and Managing Director, Xiaomi India, says, “We are delighted to open the first experience store for all our Mi Fans in the national capital of New Delhi. Mi Home Experience Store is an opportunity for us to provide our Mi Fans with the best that we have to offer and in return gain their valuable feedback to continue to delight them with our offerings. We have always given a lot of significance to the feedback that we have received from our users and this is another step towards that direction.”

Apart from the Home Experience stores in Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi, the company has offline presence through 36 Mi Home stores across India and it is planning to open 100 Mi Home stores in 2018.

Most recently, Xiaomi has launched internet-based services Mi Music and Mi Video in India as the pre-installed audio and video apps respectively.

Recently, smartphone maker Xiaomi announced 3 smartphone manufacturing plants in India and also to invest 6000 to 7000 crores in 100 Indian startups in next 5 years.

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As we have already covered the features of new Android P, the next version of Google’s OS in our previous article and the released features are more or less the same.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are the most important announcements made at Google I/O 2018 keynote presentation, and Google Assistant is ready to play an even more central role in Google’s ecosystem than it already has over the past few years. Apart from this, Google also unveiled newly updated version of Android P, which is available to developers (and anyone else who wants to install it on his or her Pixel phone).

5 cool things a Business Strategist can do for your Business

At the event, the search giant launched many features across products including Google Compose, which helps in writing emails faster, new Google News app with AI, Android P and more.

With the Android P Beta, Google aims to make Android smarter and easier to use than ever. Android P has machine learning at its core and will help the smartphone learn and adapt as per the usage.

Android P Updates

1. Google has partnered with Deep Mind, the world leader in artificial intelligence, to build Adaptive Battery for Android P.
2. The new App Actions feature – to help the user to get to the next tasks by quickly predicting what they might want to do next. Actions will show up in different places such as the Launcher, Smart Text Selection, the Play Store, the Google Search app and the Assistant. For instance, just as the user connects the headphone jack, the phone will perform an action to resume playing the favorite playlist
3. Slices – available only through Google Search. This feature will show results in slightly larger interactive snippets
4. Look and feel by introducing a new navigation system
5. New and improved Dashboard – shows how the user is spending time on the device including time spent in apps, number of times the phone has been unlocked and more
6. App Timer allows user to set time limits on apps
7. New Do Not Disturb mode that not only silences the phone calls and notifications, but also all the visual interruptions that pop up on your screen
8. ML Kit – a new set of cross-platform APIs available through Firebase which offers developers on-device APIs for text recognition, face detection, image labeling and more
9. A nutrition tracker –  can easily deploy our text recognition model to scan nutritional information and ML Kit’s custom model APIs to automatically classify over 200 different foods with your phone’s camera

The Android P Beta is available in Google Pixel devices, and will be available on a select few partner devices including

• Pixel 2 / Pixel 2 XL
• Pixel / Pixel XL
• Essential Phone PH1
• Sony Xperia XZ2
• OnePlus 6 (coming soon)
• Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S
• Nokia 7 Plus
• Oppo R15 Pro
• Vivo X21

How to install Android P Beta on your smartphones?

1. Go to android.com/beta
2. Sign up for Android P (users need to sign up with the same Google account  that they have signed in on their smartphone)
3. Accept Android Beta Program Terms of Service and share the feedback about Android P with the company from your device and by joining the Android Beta Program Google+ community
4. After you register, you’ll get a notification on your device about a system update being available. That’s Android P

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Smartphones now a days equipped with all the features, software and applications which are in-built, pre-installed and if needed then there are thousands of applications for different purposes which can be downloaded as per the need of the users so calling Smartphones a mini-computer is not an exaggeration. Many of us do most of our work on this gadget. The smartphones’ growing processing power like 6GB RAM, 2TB storage (expandable though), hecta-core processors and more too are turning them into an actual powerhouses.

We’ve listed some of the best smartphones based on price, performance and top-notch specifications available in the Indian market and they are as below-

iPhone X Price and Specifications

INR 1,02,000/- is the price tag, this smartphone is the tenth-anniversary iPhone of Apple. Features include FaceID and a brand new design, sans the home screen. The smartphone comes with Super Retina edge-to-edge display. It has 458 ppi (resolution of 2,436 x 1,125 pixels), the highest pixel density in an iPhone ever. Larger than the all-new iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X comes with a 5.8-inch OLED screen.

iPhone X is also the first time iPhone to sport an OLED display. The HDR display supports Dolby Vision and HDR10. iPhone X comes with an all-glass front and back. It features what Apple claims is “the most durable glass ever in a smartphone in silver or space gray, while a highly polished, surgical-grade stainless steel band seamlessly wraps around and reinforces iPhone X. A seven-layer color process allows for precise color hues and opacity on the glass finish, and a reflective optical layer enhances the rich colors, making the design as elegant as it is durable, while maintaining water and dust resistance.”

The smartphone is powered by the company’s A11 Bionic chip, also equipped with . It features a dual 12-megapixel rear camera system with dual optical image stabilization. The smartphone comes in two storage variants — 64GB and 256GB.

SAMSUNG S9 Price and Specifications

INR 65,900/- is the price tag, Samsung Galaxy S9 is a flagship product of Samsung for the year 2018, which sports a 5.8-inch Quad HD + Curved Super-AMOLED display. The smartphone sports the same Infinity Edge display, which the company introduced in the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ devices.

It has its own Exynos 9810 processor and runs Android 8.0 Oreo operating system topped with the TouchWiz UI of the company. The Samsung Galaxy S9 comes with 4GB RAM and 64GB, and 256GB of storage options. Samsung Galaxy S9 Super equipped with Speed Dual Pixel 12MP AF sensor with OIS (F1.5/F2.4) and an 8MP front camera for selfies. The Samsung Galaxy S9 is backed by a 3000mAh battery.

ONEPLUS 5T Price and Specifications

INR 32,999/- is the price tag, OnePlus 5T runs on Android 7.1.1 Nougat could be upgraded to Android 8.0 Oreo, which sports a 6.01-inch full HD+ (1080×2160 pixels) Optic Amoled display with a pixel density of 401ppi and 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection.

It is powered by the octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, the processor is coupled with Adreno 540 GPU.

OnePlus 5T boasts a 16MP Sony IMX398 sensor along with f/1.7 aperture. The secondary rear camera comes with a 20MP Sony IMX376K camera sensor with f/1.7 aperture and dual LED flash. At the front there is a 16MP Sony IMX 371 sensor with f/2.0 aperture. A 3300mAh battery along with the support for Dash charging tech gives the smartphone an extra edge. The smartphone also features Face unlock security tech, which is said to unlock the device in 0.4 seconds.

LG G6 Price and Specifications

INR 29,990/- is the price tag, LG G6 is equipped with a stunning DolbyVision-compliant display that has a unique 18:9 aspect ratio, LG G6 makes watching HDR video content a feast for the eyes. Delivering processing muscle to the smartphone is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 SoC, augmented by 4GB of RAM. G6 has a dual rear camera setup with two 13MP sensors having f/1.8 and f/2.4 apertures, as well as a dual-LED flash. 3,300mAh non-removable battery with Quick Charge 3.0 support makes it a phenomenal smartphone. Major connectivity options offered by the LG G6 include 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, DLNA, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, GLONASS and of course, USB Type-C.

XIAOMI REDMI 4 Price and Specifications

INR 10,999/- is the price tag, Xiaomi Redmi 4 is among the best budget smartphone. The Xiaomi Redmi 4 has a 5-inch HD display of 720×1280 pixel resolution. The 2.5D curved glass design helps improves the overall appearance of the smartphone. The smartphone is powered by 1.4GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 processor. There was no heating issue or lag during multitasking and playing games. Xiaomi Redmi 4 is backed by a 4,100mAh battery with the 13MP rear camera & LED flash and a 5MP front-facing shooter for selfies. The camera app itself is pretty simple to use and comes with various shooting modes such as Panorama, Manual, Tilt-shift and more. Xiaomi Redmi 4 smartphone comes with an IR blaster and offers all the major connectivity options.

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Facebook is having a not-so-good time since last month as it has come under scrutiny from several government authorities for sharing user data with a third-party consulting firm. For the same #DeleteFacebook has been trending in twitter and many of us have of course deleted our Facebook accounts as well in the same row of data stealing.

Recently social media giant has also been in limelight gathering regular call and SMS data records from smartphones. It is also possible to turn off this feature by visiting the Messenger settings page for Messenger and Facebook Lite users. Follow the steps below to stop Facebook from recording your call-

If you want to see your Recorded data and delete it in Facebook, visit below links

1. Login to your Facebook account
2. Messenger users can visit the link and delete all contact information.
3. Facebook Lite users can perform the same steps from link.

The social media giant reconfirmed that it never sells these data and the feature does not collect the content of the SMS or calls.
You can however, check what all data of yours has Facebook captured until now. All you need to do is to download the .zip file.

The steps to download data from Facebook are as below

1. From your desktop, visit the page
2. Go to account setting page, Click on ‘Download a copy’ link from the bottom at General account settings page
3. Once clicked, you will see a ‘Download your information’ page with an option to click on ‘Start my Archive’.
4. Clicking on that will open a dialogue box asking for your password. Once the password is provided, there will be a prompt saying that Facebook will notify you once the data is ready to download.
5. Once ready, you can click on the notification and download the .zip file on the desktop.
6. After downloading, extract the files and click on ‘HTML’ followed by ‘contact_info’
7. Scroll below and see what all call and SMS data of yours Facebook has gathered over the years.

The document also shows what all advertisers are using your Facebook contact information. This can be seen under the ‘Ads’ option. There is also an option to see the same from inside the app as well.

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Chinese consumer electronics and mobile communication company, Oppo brand under OPPO Electronics Corp., has finally launched its flagship smartphone Oppo F7 in India today in an event held in Mumbai. OPPO’s major product lines include smartphones, Blu-ray players and other electronic devices.

This newly launched baby is the successor to the Oppo F5, the highlight of this device is its whopping 25MP front-facing camera with Artificial Intelligence features, which the company is claiming to be the first on a camera smartphone.

The only real competition for the handset in this aspect comes from Vivo which is offering a slightly low 24MP selfie-camera in its recently launched Vivo V9.

Price & offers on Oppo F7

Oppo F7 is priced at Rs 21,990, for the 4GB RAM variant and Rs 26,990, for the 6GB RAM variant. Both the variants come in Solar Red, Blue and Moonlight Silver color options. There is also a Black diamond-cut edition of the Oppo F7.

The device will be available via flash sale only on April 2 online exclusively on Flipkart and offline on its 777 stores. The first sale of the handset will begin from April 9.

Specifications of Oppo F7

• 6.23-inch full-HD+ display with 1080×2280 pixel resolution and 19:9 aspect ratio.
• It has an iPhone X-like notch on the top.
• Processor- An 64-bit octa-core MediaTek Helio P60 processor paired.
• Storage options – 4GB of RAM with 64GB ROM and 6GB of RAM and 128GB ROM.
• Dual sim support and a dedicated microSD card support, with triple slots.
• AI Beauty 2.0-powered 25-megapixel front-facing camera with Sony 576 Sensor HDR.
• Single rear camera lens of 16-megapixel with LED flash, comes with AI recognition for up to 16 scenes. The camera also boasts of the Portrait and Vivid mode.
• Color OS 5.0 based on Android 8.1.
• Facial unlock feature.
• Battery- 3400mAh (offers 15 hours of battery backup on a single charge).
• Connectivity- 4G, VoLTE, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS.
• Fingerprint sensor at back

AI enabled device focuses on better color reproduction and detailing. As for the Artificial Intelligence features, the camera is capable of scanning more than 296 facial spots and arm and neck recognition as well. It is capable of differentiating the gender, age, skin tone, and skin type of the person in front of the camera. The AI-learning of the Oppo F7 recognizes the habit of the user and remembers it and does that automatically for them for their subsequent pictures. Another feature of the camera is its Vivid Mode, which is said to keep the face of the person natural but enhances the background. The camera of the Oppo F7 also comes with AR-based sticker support as well as group selfie-beautification capability.

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Samsung Galaxy J8 2018 is expected to be launched in March 2018 & to run on Android 8 OS, equipped with built in fingerprint sensor as the primary security feature. Samsung is a South Korean multinational conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul which was founded by Lee Byung-chul in 1938 initially as a trading company.

The smartphone is tipped to be powered by Samsung’s Exynos 7870 SoC. A 3/4 GB of RAM will help phone run smoothly without showing any signs of lag. The internal storage is expected to be expandable via a microSD card.

The phone in all probability will have a 5.5 inch screen with an TFT display having a resolution of 720 x 1280. The screen is expected to be protected by a durable Scratch Resistant glass.

The smartphone is speculated to boast of a 12 megapixel rear and 8 megapixel front Camera.

Below are speculated Specification of Samsung Galaxy J8 2018, yet they need some official confirmation.

Samsung Galaxy J8 Specification

• Model: J8 (2018)
• Launch date (global): 27-03-2018
• Operating system: Android OS version 8
• Screen size (in inches): 5.5, TFT
• Screen resolution (in pixels): 720 x 1280
• Rear Camera Megapixel: 12
• Front Camera Megapixel: 8
• Multi touch, Light Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Finger print sensor: Yes
• 3G, 4G Capability, Wifi Capability, Wifi HotSpot, Bluetooth: Yes
• Dual SIM
• 4 GB RAM
• Storage: 32 GB

Image used for the illustration purpose only.

Refer more news on mobile and gadgets at Newskart.

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Lenovo has launched its first-ever full screen smartphone, Lenovo S5 with full screen display at an event in China. The company has priced the Lenovo S5 at 999 yuan (Rs 10,294) with the 3GB version and 1199 yuan (Rs 12,354) for the 4GB variant. The highest variant has 4GB RAM and 128 GB storage on board and the price is Yuan 1,499, which comes to Rs 15,446 on conversion.

Lenovo S5 follows the trend of the newer taller display and this phone will go on sale from March 23 in China.

The smartphone can be purchased in Midnight Black and Flame Red color options.

Feature and specifications of Lenovo S5

1. 5.7-inch full HD+ display with 2160 × 1080 pixels resolution and 18:9 aspect ratio
2. Corning Gorilla Glass on top
3. Android 8.0 Oreo operating system topped with ZUI 3.7
4. 2GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor
5. Variants – 3GB RAM and 4GB RAM
6. Storage – 64GB & 128GB (further expandable upto 128GB by adding a microSD card)
7. Dual rear camera (13MP (Monochrome) + 13MP (RGB) dual rear cameras with dual-tone LED Flash and f/2.2 aperture)
8. Smartphone is capable of capturing portrait shots
9. 16MP Front or selfie camera with real-time AI capabilities and beautify features
10. Face recognition and face unlock
11. 3,000 mAh battery
12. Network – 4G, VoLTE, 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS and USB Type C as connectivity options
13. Sensors – fingerprint, gravity, Light sensor, proximity sensor and compass
14. Integrated metal body, 3.5mm headphone jack, Dual SIM

Apart from this, Lenovo launched two budget smartphones — Lenovo K5 and K5 Play at the same event.

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Smartphone maker, Xiaomi, announced that latest MIUI 9.5 Global Stable ROM for several of its smartphones in the Redmi, Mi MIX, and Mi Max series has started rolling out. The update has started rolling out for Redmi Note 4 MTK, Redmi 3S, Redmi 4 Prime, Redmi Note 3 Special Edition, Redmi Note 3 Qualcomm, Redmi Note 4 Qualcomm/Redmi Note 4X, Redmi 4A, Redmi 5 Plus, Mi Max and Mi Max Prime.

The company has also announced estimated schedule and availability for MIUI 9.5 on numerous other phones in the coming weeks. Updates will be rolled out via over-the-air (OTA) method.

Xiaomi also states that it will gradually release the update for other phones in the company’s portfolio. MIUI 9.5 is based on top of Android 7.0 Nougat.

MIUI 9.5 Global Stable ROM Release Schedule

1. Late March: Redmi Note 3 Special Edition, Redmi Note 3 Qualcomm, Redmi Note 4 Qualcomm/Redmi Note 4X, Mi Max, Mi Max Prime, Redmi 3S, Redmi 4 Prime, Redmi 4A and Redmi Note 4 MTK
2. Early April: Redmi Note 5A Prime/Redmi Y1, Redmi Note 5A/Redmi Y1 Lite, Redmi 5A, Redmi 5 Plus, Redmi Note 5/Pro, Redmi 5, Mi Max 2, Mi 5/Pro, Redmi 4X, Mi 6 and Mi MIX 2
3. Mid April: Mi Note 2, Mi 5s, Mi MIX, Mi Note 3, Mi 5s Plus, Redmi Note 2, Redmi 3, Redmi 4, Mi 3, Mi 4

It is only estimated time and might be changed due to various reasons announced Xiaomi. We will keep you updated with the latest information. Please stay tuned!

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With the increase in number of smartphones and increased telecom bandwidth in India, people are exploring video calling apart from the normal day to day calls with their dear ones. The voice calls are still a first choice for many and is hardly to be replaced by video calls, but that doesn’t mean video calls are a dud.

Most promising video calling apps are available for android and iOS users but the most popular apps in India that come with video calling feature are WhatsApp, Google Duo, and Facebook Messenger.

Let’s take a look of features these video calling apps are offering and comparing them as well that which one suits best in the field of speed and size.

1. WhatsApp Messenger

WhatsApp is undoubtedly the most popular messaging app. Currently it has over 200 million monthly active users in India only. The Facebook-owned app introduced the video calling feature in 2016.

During WhatsApp video calling, user can switch the cameras between the front and rear – the video being captured by your camera will be at the bottom right in a small rectangular widget that can be tapped to make full screen. You also see mute button, and a disable video call button, in addition to the end call button. In case you’re on a voice call on WhatsApp, you will now be able to switch to a video call by tapping a button in the call interface in the latest WhatsApp version for Android and iOS.

2. Google Duo

Google has several video calling apps such as Hangouts, however at the I/O conference in 2016, Google realized to focus more on messaging and calling apps. It launched the Google Allo and Google Duo apps at the conference.

Google Duo is comparatively simpler than WhatsApp since it doesn’t support textual messaging. It comes with voice and video calls only.

The Google Duo has an interesting feature called Knock Knock that lets the person who you are calling see your video before the call is answered. The app was recently updated with a fresh contact list and a recent list.

3. Facebook Messenger

Facebook Messenger was initially launched as one of the suite of apps from the social media giant. Facebook launched its Messenger independent of your Facebook profile however you can use Messenger with your Facebook account as well.

Alternatively you can sign up with your mobile number without having to create a Facebook profile if you don’t wish to.

If to think about which app is better, we can say Facebook Messenger has a lot more features than WhatsApp and Google Duo like lot of stickers, games, automated responses from brand pages, and chatbots, separate tab where your voice and video calls are saved, group calling, better interface, the video call screen has mute, video chat off and end call option.

Apart from above , there are two buttons Chat and Camera. Tapping on chat icon will bring you the chat screen while your video call is still running in a Picture-in-Picture (PiP) mode.

WeChat, a Chinese multimedia messaging app recently crossed 1 Billion download which is also offering load of features.

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As per the reports by Google (Alphabet Inc.) and Boston Consulting Group, India is headed for an exponential increase in digital payments methods and the digital payments industry in India becoming Asia’s third-largest economy. It is estimated that it will grow by 10 times to touch $500 billion by 2020 and contribute 15% of gross domestic product (GDP), the report predicted.

Introduction of smartphones, the entry of several non-banking institutions offering payment services, consumer readiness to adopt digital payments, progressive changes in the regulatory framework will power the trend, it said.

Also, the Digital India program is a flagship program of the Government of India with a vision to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. “Faceless, Paperless, Cashless” is one of professed role of Digital India.

As part of promoting cashless transactions and converting India into less-cash society, various modes of digital payments are available as below-

1. Banking Cards (Debit / Credit / Cash / Travel / Others)

Banking cards offer consumers more security, convenience, and control than any other payment method. The wide variety of cards available – including credit, debit and prepaid – offers enormous flexibility, as well. These cards provide 2 factor authentication for secure payments e.g secure PIN and OTP. RuPay, Visa, MasterCard are some of the example of card payment systems. Payment cards give people the power to purchase items in stores, on the Internet, through mail-order catalogues and over the telephone. They save both customers and merchants’ time and money, and thus enable them for ease of transaction.

2. Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD)

The innovative payment service *99# works on Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) channel. This service allows mobile banking transactions using basic feature mobile phone, there is no need to have mobile internet data facility for using USSD based mobile banking. It is envisioned to provide financial deepening and inclusion of under banked society in the mainstream banking services.

*99# service has been launched to take the banking services to every common man across the country. Banking customers can avail this service by dialing *99#, a “Common number across all Telecom Service Providers (TSPs)” on their mobile phone and transact through an interactive menu displayed on the mobile screen. Key services offered under *99# service include, inter-bank account to account fund transfer, balance inquiry, mini statement besides host of other services. *99# service is currently offered by 51 leading banks & all GSM service providers and can be accessed in 12 different languages including Hindi & English as on 30.11.2016 (Source: NPCI). *99# service is a unique inter-operable direct to consumer service that brings together the diverse ecosystem partners such as Banks & TSPs (Telecom Service Providers).

3. Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS)

AEPS is a bank led model which allows online interoperable financial transaction at PoS (Point of Sale / Micro ATM) through the Business Correspondent (BC)/Bank Mitra of any bank using the Aadhaar authentication.

4. Unified Payments Interface (UPI)

Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is a system that powers multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application (of any participating bank), merging several banking features, seamless fund routing & merchant payments into one hood. It also caters to the “Peer to Peer” collect request which can be scheduled and paid as per requirement and convenience. Each Bank provides its own UPI App for Android, Windows and iOS mobile platform(s) such as Axis Pay, SBI Pay, PhonePe App, Google Tez App, BHIM UPI App, Bonus App – PNB UPI.

5. Mobile Wallets Or E-Wallets

A mobile wallet or E-Wallet is a way to carry cash in digital format. You can link your credit card or debit card information in mobile device to mobile wallet application or you can transfer money online to mobile wallet. Instead of using your physical plastic card to make purchases, you can pay with your smartphone, tablet, or smart watch. An individual’s account is required to be linked to the digital wallet to load money in it. Most banks have their e-wallets and some private companies and various startups have also launched E-Wallets in India. e.g. PayTM, Freecharge, Mobikwik, Oxigen, mRuppee, Airtel Money, Jio Money, SBI Buddy, itz Cash, Citrus Pay, Vodafone M-Pesa, Axis Bank Lime, ICICI Pockets, SpeedPay etc . are digital payment methods.

6. Banks Pre-Paid Cards

Prepaid debit cards, sometimes referred to as bank prepaid cards, are credit instruments that banks issue that give people an easy and adaptable way to manage their finances. Prepaid cards are independent of bank accounts, in contrast to conventional debit or credit cards that are connected to checking or credit accounts. Rather, they preload money onto the card, which they then use for a variety of payments up to the available balance.

7. Point Of Sale

A point of sale (PoS) is the place where sales are made. On a macro level, a PoS may be a mall, a market or a city. On a micro level, retailers consider a PoS to be the area where a customer completes a transaction, such as a checkout counter. It is also known as a point of purchase.

8. Internet Banking

Internet banking, also known as online banking, e-banking or virtual banking, is an electronic payment system/digital payment methods that enables customers of a bank or other financial institution to conduct a range of financial transactions through the financial institution’s website.

9. Mobile Banking

Mobile banking is a service provided by a bank or other financial institution that allows its customers to conduct different types of financial transactions remotely using a mobile device such as a mobile phone or tablet. It uses software, usually called an app, provided by the banks or financial institution for the purpose. Each Bank provides its own mobile banking App for Android, Windows and iOS mobile platform(s) which is one of the most popular digital payment methods now a days. 

10. Micro ATMs

Micro ATM meant to be a device that is used by a million Business Correspondents (BC) to deliver basic banking services. The platform will enable Business Correspondents (who could be a local kirana shop owner and will act as ‘micro ATM’) to conduct instant transactions.

The micro platform will enable function through low cost devices (micro ATMs) that will be connected to banks across the country. This would enable a person to instantly deposit or withdraw funds regardless of the bank associated with a particular BC. This device will be based on a mobile phone connection and would be made available at every BC. Customers would just have to get their identity authenticated and withdraw or put money into their bank accounts. This money will come from the cash drawer of the BC. Essentially, BCs will act as bank for the customers and all they need to do is verify the authenticity of customer using customers’ UID. The basic transaction types, to be supported by micro ATM, are Deposit, Withdrawal, Fund transfer and Balance inquiry.

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WhatsApp (A cross-platform mobile messaging app which allows you to exchange messages without having to pay for SMS and works under subscription business model) has launched a web client for the web browser that acts same as the phone application does.

The web browser “mirrors conversations and messages from your mobile device — this means all of your messages still live on your phone”, said a blog post on the WhatsApp blog (https://blog[dot]whatsapp[dot]com/whats-app-web).

Steps To Access WhatsApp On Desktops and Laptops

1. To connect your web browser to your WhatsApp client, simply open web[dot]whatsapp[dot]com in your Google Chrome browser.
2. Open WhatsApp in your mobile.
3. Tap on three vertical dots in upper right hand side in WhatsApp mobile.
4. Tap on WhatsApp Web
5. Scan QR code given at web[dot]whatsapp[dot]com in desktop/laptop browser from WhatsApp in your mobile
6. Once QR code is recognized then pairing of WhatsApp on your mobile and the WhatsApp web client has established.

Since it is mirroring your phone, the device will need to be connected to the net at all times. there is no web client for iOS users due to Apple platform limitations. With over 500 million users globally, WhatsApp till now was available only on smartphones across operating systems Android, iOS, Windows and BlackBerry.

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