by Editor | May 25, 2021 | Branding, Business, Markets, Technology
By Sourabh Kulesh,
New Delhi : After receiving good response for ‘A1 Plus’ (at Rs 26,999), Gionee India has launched ‘A1 Lite’ for Rs 14,999, pinning its hopes on the 20MP selfie camera and a massive 4,000mAh battery.
With a nearly six per cent share in the domestic smartphone market, Gionee launched this device to compete in the mid-segment range where Motorola (Moto G5 Plus) and Xiaomi (Redmi Note 4) already have a strong hold.
Can Gionee A1 Lite dethrone the leaders? Let’s find out.
The phone comes in two colours — gold and black. It has 5.3-inch HD display with 2.5D Gorilla Glass protection and sports a back cover that gleams metallic along with a sleek unibody design.
The 4G VoLTE-enabled A1 Lite runs on an octa-core 64-bit processor with 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage that can be expanded up to 256GB.
We tested it with a few games, opened multiple apps and did not experience any lag.
The device houses a 20MP selfie camera that is powered by four-cell technology. The result is better selfies than its predecessor.
The 13MP rear camera, however, is not that good when it comes to image quality as compared with its competitors.
On the software front, the device runs on Android 7.0 Nougat with Amigo OS 4.0 skin which offers smooth transition.
The toggles pop up from the bottom — just as in Apple devices — but too much bloatware is a bit of a turn-off.
As far as the battery is concerned, the 4,000mAh pack will keep you connected all day long. The device returned a massive 23-hour running time when we used it to surf on social media, light gaming and almost 70 minutes of content consumption.
What doesn’t work?
The photos taken in low-light conditions are too grainy. Heating issues also need to be taken care of.
The company claims A1 Lite unlocks in just 0.3 second with the fingerprint sensor located under the rear camera. However, it took a bit longer.
Conclusion: With competitors like Xiaomi and Motorola (and now Coolpad has joined the fray with its 6GB Cool Play 6) in this price segment, it would be a daunting task for Gionee to stay ahead in the race.
If you need better selfies to charm your girlfriend and a longer battery life to stay connected, place your bet on the A1 Lite.
(Sourabh Kulesh can be contacted at sourabh.k@ians.in)
—IANS
by Editor | May 25, 2021 | Markets, Technology, World
Jakarta : After a successful run in India, Google has brought its public Wi-Fi programme ‘Google Station’ to Indonesia that will help improve access to Internet at railway stations and other locations.
“We are partnering with CBN and Fiberstar to bring high-speed public Wi-Fi to hundreds of locations across Indonesia,” Google said in a blog post on Friday.
“Soon, we will be bringing Google Station to even more places around the world. We are also continuing our work to expand Google Station across India,” it added.
Google, in collaboration with Railtel, has rolled out free Wi-Fi service at several railway stations in India, offering high-speed internet to millions of people.
Google launched its first free WiFi services at Mumbai Central station in January 2016.
The company would continue to deploy high speed Wi-Fi in 300 more stations across the country.
—IANS
by Editor | May 25, 2021 | Markets, Muslim World, Technology
Jeddah : A unique smartphone “Hajj App” for use during the season of annual pilgrimage of Hajj was launched on Wednesday.
The free app was launched by the Saudi English newspaper Arab News in partnership with Muslim World League (MWL).
The app to download on iOS and Android devices via the App Store and Google Play has a raft of useful features for use by both pilgrims and their loved ones’ back home.
The “Hajj App” is sponsored and officially endorsed by the MWL, as part of its global outreach efforts to reinforce the organisation’s position as an umbrella body that serves all Muslims.
The app features numerous functions for use during the Hajj season, including the latest news updates from Arab News and a live broadcast service. It also provides important safety features such as an emergency call number and list of all embassies and important service providers during Hajj.
Additionally, the app has an optional “Pilgrim tracker” function, which enables users to switch on to share their location and follow loved ones in real time, around the clock. This means you can keep an eye on your family and friends wherever you are.
The launch of the service comes as part of the digital transformation of Arab News and falls within the title’s efforts as a leading Saudi Arabia-based English-language daily to provide comprehensive coverage of the Hajj pilgrimage.
Commenting on the launch, Faisal J. Abbas, Editor-in-Chief of Arab News, said the app would complement the newspaper’s renowned Hajj news coverage and thanked MWL for its support. “This Arab News/Muslim World League cooperation is an ideal and practical example of a media outlet working with a non-governmental organisation for the public good,” he said.
“Launching this app is part of Arab News’ digital transformation, and provides readers, and English-speaking pilgrims added value and a very useful service,” added Abbas.
For its part, The MWL praised the newspaper’s initiative and said it presents a positive model of putting technology to good use.
“We are happy to partner with Arab News in launching this app, which aims to serve pilgrims digitally by providing them with all the information and contact details they need, in addition to the pilgrim geographical tracker serve,” MWL said in a statement.
“We also would like to utilize this opportunity to praise Arab News for its editorial efforts, mainly that it has always been known for its unique and informative annual Hajj coverage.”
Arab News is part of the regional publishing giant Saudi Research and Marketing Group (SRMG). It has been the English newspaper of record for Saudi Arabia and the region for over 40 years.
—SM/IINA
by Editor | May 25, 2021 | Business, Markets, Medium Enterprise, News, Technology
New Delhi : The demand for wearable technology is set to increase 16.7 per cent in 2017 and 310.4 million such devices will be sold globally, market research firm Gartner said on Thursday.
The wearable devices market would generate a revenue of $30.5 billion in 2017. Smartwatches would continue to drive the wearables market and would generate a revenue of $9.3 billion.
Apple would dominate the smartwatch market but its market share will decrease from approximately a third in 2016 to a quarter in 2021, the report said.
“Smartwatches are on pace to achieve the greatest revenue potential among all wearables through 2021, reaching $17.4 billion,” said Angela McIntyre, Research Director at Gartner, in a statement.
Revenue from smartwatches is bolstered by relatively stable average selling prices (ASPs) of Apple Watch.
Apple is expected to launch its new smartwatch in September that could enable direct cellular connectivity for interacting with its smart assistant Siri, texting and transferring sensor data when the phone or Wi-Fi is not present.
Other brands such as Asus, Huawei, LG, Samsung and Sony would sell only 15 per cent smartwatches in 2021.
—IANS
by Editor | May 25, 2021 | Business, Interviews, Marketing Basics, Markets, SMEs, Technology
By Krishna Sinha Chaudhury,
New Delhi : As the Indian market embraces the 4G Long Term-Evolution (LTE) technology ecosystem in a big way, global chip giant Qualcomm finds it natural to innovate for the growing 4G market in the country, a senior company executive has said.
According to Counterpoint Research’s “Market Monitor” service, LTE-installed base of mobile handsets crossed 150 million units in India — behind only China and the United States — and is estimated to surpass the US in the next one year.
Leading the 4G data race is Reliance Jio that has garnered 125 million customers across the country. Since its launch 10 months back, Jio has added seven customers per second on an average.
“The Indian market is rapidly transitioning into a 4G LTE market which marks an excellent opportunity for us,” Larry Paulson, Vice President and President of Qualcomm India, told IANS.
“Our roadmap at this point entirely consists of 4G LTE. We already carry a rich legacy in 2G and 3G technology in India,” Paulson added.
In March, the company announced Snapdragon 205 mobile platform that is targeted at 4G feature phones.
“Though there has not been any public announcement about 4G feature phones with Qualcomm but yes, we are moving ahead quite well with that technology,” Paulson noted.
Reliance Jio has launched a “free” JioPhone that is powered by Qualcomm’s 205 mobile platform.
Qualcomm believes the users in India give importance to value and that is why the company is focused on the value proposition.
“First and foremost, there is a long line of lessons in doing business in India. It is very important to listen to the market and the market has a high emphasis on value,” the executive said.
“We are enabling our customers and partners to build products that not only have high capabilities but also help them package those capabilities in a value proposition. With this, we have announced our roadmap at mobile platform 200 and then Snapdragon 450, 600, 800. I think we are addressing exactly that value proposition,” Paulson contended.
Acknowledging the company’s upward growth trajectory in the country, he said: “From a presence point of view, yes, we have grown. We have an engineering centre in Hyderabad, a development centre in Bengaluru and a wireless division in Chennai.”
The company stressed that it would continue to work on research and development and engineering technologies in the country.
Qualcomm is also confident about the newest addition to the Snapdragon 400 chipset family.
“We have four chipset families — the Snapdragon 200, 400, 600 and 800. Each one means more and enables more. To be able to bring that technology down to Snapdragon 400 level is very good for India. That also means we will be able to hit quite attractive price points and powerful technology,” Paulson told IANS.
Snapdragon 450 was unveiled at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Shanghai this year.
“This is the first time we have brought the 14 nanometre (nm) technology down into the Snapdragon 400 family. The benefits of this are power management and size,” the executive said.
Qualcomm India has also started an initiative named “SoochnaPreneur”, in association with Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF), that aims to connect rural youth to information about government entitlement programmes.
The programme also aims to create technology-based entrepreneurship opportunities for the rural youth.
The initiative also demonstrates how advanced wireless technologies can be used for social and economic empowerment, helping to bridge information poverty gaps through last-mile information access and delivery of services.
(Krishna SinhaChaudhury can be contacted at krishna.s@ians.in)
—IANS
