10,000 ZenFone 5 units on sale exclusively via Flipkart today, says Asus

Following the footsteps of Xiaomi, Asus has announced that it will put 10,000 units of its ZenFone 5 smartphone on sale exclusively via Flipkart today. The Zenfone 5 is available in 8GB and 16GB versions, and the company hasn’t specified further break according to the storage space. Currently, the Flipkart page still shows the device is “out of stock” and it’s asking users to insert their email addresses to receive alerts about its availability.

The 8GB variant of the ZenFone 5 is priced at Rs 9,999, while the 16GB storage variant costs Rs 12,999.  The device was launched alongside a slew of other Zenfone models like the Zenfone 4, 4.5, and 6. Last month, the company had claimed to have sold 40,000 Zenfone units in a mere four days in India.

Sitting in between the higher-end Zenfone 6 and low-end Zenfone 4, the dual-SIM Zenfone 5 sports a 5-inch screen.

It features a 1280 x 720 pixel IPS display, and comes with an 8MP rear camera.  There’s the standard 2MP camera for selfies and video calls. It runs on the same 2GHz Intel Atom dual-core processor as on the Zenfone 6, so it should be just as fast. It’s available in both 8GB and 16GB versions and you can add up to 64GB with a microSD card.

Posted by : Gizmeon

Gmail, Yahoo now make phone number mandatory

World’s most popular free email providers Gmail and Yahoo have made telephone number mandatory for creation of new email addresses in a bid to check spam.

Any person wishing to create a new email id needs to provide a telephone number which Gmail and Yahoo use for verification.

Google India spokesperson claimed giving phone number was optional but repeated attempts to create a new email address on Gmail by skipping the mobile number requirement failed.

The Gmail website said that move to seek phone number is to check spam email senders.

“In an effort to protect our users from abuse, we sometimes ask users to prove they’re not a robot before they’re able to create or sign in to accounts. Having this additional confirmation via phone is an effective way to keep spammers from abusing our systems,” the website said.

Google has also limited number of accounts that a person using one telephone number can create but the website did not specify the maximum number of email account it will allow.

While for Gmail a person can give either telephone or mobile number, for a new Yahoo it is now mandatory to have a mobile number.

“At Yahoo, we are committed to the security of our users. We ask our users to provide their mobile number at registration as a secondary means of authentication, in addition to their password. We would only use the number if we see any unusual activity on the account,” Yahoo spokesperson said.

Internet Service Providers Association of India said that there is no regulatory requirement for making telephone number mandatory for having an email address and condemned the move as such practice could expose privacy of an individual.

“This is an attack on user’s privacy. This should not happen. If they (Gmail and Yahoo) are doing such a thing, then this must be recognised by Indian government on how they are collecting phone numbers,” ISPAI President Rajesh Chharia said.

Internet companies have been advocating at global level that there should be no kind of restriction on use of Internet and if there are any regulations on Internet, then the cost associated with compliance of those regulations should be such that it should not check proliferation of Internet usage.

Though number of telecom subscriber is over 90 crore in India, a survey conducted by research firm Juxt in 2013 showed there were only about 55.48 crore people in the country who actually owned a mobile device.

Posted by : Gizmeon

The Evolution of Amazon's Kindle in One GIF

In the seven years since its debut, Amazon's popular e-reader, Kindle, has changed quite a bit.

Tech review site GadgetLove put together a hypnotizing GIF showing Kindle's development since 2007. And the changes are pretty remarkable.

The GIF starts with the boxy first-edition Kindle in all of its rectangular glory. It then rapidly progresses through the subsequent generations all the way up to the Kindle Paperwhite. A notable change among the five different Kindles shown is the diminishing number of buttons and keys until they are done away with altogether. The logo also gets a makeover, dropping the Amazon brand from the front of its name by the fourth generation.

Amazon recently began its foray into smartphone technology with the Fire phone, which was introduced at a company event in June.

Posted by : Gizmeon

Microsoft Launches $25 Nokia Handset With No Internet Service

Microsoft may be dropping Android and doubling down on its Nokia Lumia phones running Windows — but that isn't the company's only mobile focus. Nokia is simultaneously looking at customers in emerging markets who don't need Internet service.

Microsoft-owned Nokia unveiled its cheapest handset yet Monday, the $25 Nokia 130, aimed primarily at Africa and the Middle East.

The 130 comes in single and dual-SIM card varieties (so it can work with two phone numbers), but does not have Internet capabilities. Instead, it's optimized for playing music and videos. The handset boasts up to 46 hours of music playback time and 16 hours of video playback. Music and videos can be stored locally on the device with an SD card (the phone itself can store up to 32 GB).

The Nokia 130 also comes equipped with an FM radio, flashlight and 1.8-inch LCD display.

Microsoft understands the importance of hooking customers in developing markets, particularly Africa, Microsoft's Jo Harlow told Recode. “Microsoft doesn’t have any other project that can reach these consumers,” Harlow said.

“These consumers will create a Microsoft account and become part of the Microsoft ecosystem.”

If this sounds familiar, it's because Microsoft used similar logic to push its short-lived Nokia X lineup of low-cost smartphones running a custom version of Android. But new Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced earlier this summer the company would be abandoning its Android efforts, instead refocusing on its flagship Lumia line.

It's not clear when the $25 Nokia 130 will go on sale, but it will be available in Africa, the Middle East and a handful of European countries.

Posted by : Gizmeon

Facebook acquires PrivateCore: All you need to know about the ‘security’ deal

Facebook has never been shy when it comes to showing off its acquisition hunger. After the jawdropping WhatsApp deal and a potentially game-changing Oculus VR acquisition, the company has now bought PrivateCore, a security solutions company.

What exactly drew Facebook’s interest in the company, that’s clearly not as mainstream as WhatsApp and Oculus, but could play a more crucial role in Facebook the social network? And most Facebook users would be most concerned about what happens to the world’s most popular social network?

PrivateCore has developed something called vCage which secures servers in untrusted environments from persistent malware, malicious hardware devices, and insider threats. vCage protects private and public cloud accounts, which are typically spread across the world, in various locations. The entire infrastructure which could be compromised through attacking just one compute node, which is what vCage prevents.

“Working together with Facebook, there is a huge opportunity to pursue our joint vision at scale with incredible impact. Over time, Facebook plans to deploy our technology into the Facebook stack to help protect the people who use Facebook,” the company’s CEO Oded Horovitz said on the PrivateCore website.

In the light of the NSA revelations, major Internet companies have been ramping up plans to make HTTPS encryption default on their websites. Google has been moving the fastest, while Facebook also made HTTPS default, but PrivateCore’s technology will allow Facebook to deploy system-wide encryption faster. Facebook’s Chief Security Officer, Joe Sullivan, pointed out this advantage in a post. “Their vCage technology protects servers from persistent malware, unauthorized physical access, and malicious hardware devices, making it safer to run any application in outsourced, hosted or cloud environments. The team at PrivateCore is also made up of top-notch security veterans with a lot of experience.”

While on the face of it, this fits in with Facebook’s expansion plans for the near future, it could also be used for Internet.org, where Mark Zuckerberg is one of the primary backers. The project which aims to bring the next 5 billion people online, has already started taking baby steps with a free Internet plan in Africa, and it could be taken elsewhere too. Here too, Facebook could use PrivateCore’s vCage to make connections more secure.

Posted by : Gizmeon

With millions of programmable neurons, IBM’s stamp-sized computer can mimic human brain

IBM unveiled a “brain-like” computer chip on Thursday that is the size of a postage stamp and capable of processing massive amounts of data while handling inputs from many different sources, the company said.

The announcement comes one month after IBM unveiled a $3 billion investment over the next five years in chip research and development to find a game-changing breakthrough that can help revive its slumping hardware unit.

Unlike most chips, which operate on pre written paths, IBM’s version processes data in realtime and is capable of dealing with ambiguity, the company said. It runs on the energy equivalent of a hearing aid.

Built on Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co Ltd’s 28nm process technology, the chip only consumes 70mW of energy.

A product of almost a decade of research, the chip aims to bridge the divide between existing computers and the brain’s high cognitive power and low energy use. “After years of collaboration with IBM, we are now a step closer to building a computer similar to our brain,” said Professor Rajit Manohar at Cornell Tech, where the chip was designed.

The chip contains one million programmable neurons and could allow a thermometer to scan and smell chemical signals and deliver a diagnosis, or help a search and rescue robot to identify people in need during a disaster, the company said.

IBM hopes it can integrate multi-sensory processing into mobile devices and says the chip can handle future advances in memory, 3G integration, logic and sensor technologies.

Posted by : Gizmeon

A Brief Look at the (Surprisingly Long) History of the Cellphone

Imagining a time without smartphones is as hard as believing that bigger-than-bricks wireless phones ever existed outside of Saved By the Bell. Believe it or not though, even 10 years ago journalists were skeptically analyzing things like “text messengers” and “M-payments” that we now use without thinking.

Check out some of the milestones that contributed to the miracle in your back pocket:

1899: In an attempt to reduce maritime collisions, Italian inventor Russo d’Azar devises a wireless system that ships can use to communicate. The Times notes that the Italian Navy has “definite orders” to adopt the technology once it's been perfected.

1946: Ralph Hersey, a native of New Jersey, receives a patent for a combination radio-telephone system that doesn’t rely on wires to send transmissions.

1973: Motorola releases the “Dyna T-A-C,” the first wireless portable phone. The device weighs just under two pounds, and “can connect with any telephone anywhere.”

1983: Ameritech Mobile Communications introduces the “first cellular mobile radio service” — what we would later call a “car phone.” The article also predicts that the device will pave the way for “telephones that will be small and light enough to fit into a briefcase or back pocket.”

1990: The Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Company reveals it has developed the lightest and smallest telephone in the world, at 9.2 cubic inches and 8.1 ounces. The device allows for continuous conversations of up to 45 minutes.

1992: Pacific Bell says it won’t offer its customers caller ID, citing low profit potential and customer concerns about privacy as the reasons. Had it approved the service, it would have charged $6.50 a month to “see a caller’s phone number on a special display.”

1996: AT&T announces “Pocketnet,” which allows customers to wirelessly connect to the Internet and view data on a three-line screen.

1997: Nokia announces project “Responder,” which aims to “combine Internet, computer and phone technologies to produce a portable machine that could use all of them equally.”

999: Complaints regarding lack of service are on the rise as the number of devices, and the stress they put on networks, finally draws attention to the importance of wireless infrastructure.

2000: Tech thought leaders start predicting the next step in mobile revolution will be something they called “m-payments,” or transactions made on your mobile device.

2001: The Nokia 5510 is released, with a list of features including the first QWERTY keyboard, a headphone jack and a whopping 64 megabytes of memory.

2003: Long before Instagram, Snapchat and #selfies , the introduction of camera phones makes people concerned, paranoid and really uncomfortable.

2004: The popularity of the Razr, the Motorola phone that prioritizes a thin body of rich data services, is seen as evidence that voice will continue to be the primary use for cellphones, rather than text messaging or data services.

2006: After two years of “Apple phone rumors,” people still aren’t sure if Apple will ever release a cellular device.

2007: In the first of many anticipated events, Steve Jobs reveals the first “iPhone” and says that Apple will drop “Computer” from its name to better represent the suite of products they will now make.

2007: The tech world celebrates the 15th anniversary of the first text message, a humble “Merry Christmas” sent from a computer to a phone.

2012: The Galaxy S III dethrones the iPhone 4S to become the best-selling smartphone in the world. The release of the iPhone 5 means Samsung doesn’t get to stay in the top spot for long, however.

2014: Amazon announces Fire Phone, with image recognition software and a 3D image display.

2014: In a landmark decision that validates the importance of data held on devices, the Supreme Court rules that a cellphone can’t be searched without a warrant.

Posted by : Gizmeon