Xiaomi India Head Teases 'Desh Ka Smartphone', Entry-Level Handset Likely

Xiaomi India Head Teases 'Desh Ka Smartphone', Entry-Level Handset Likely

Xiaomi India Managing Director on Twitter teased the launch of another handset in the country. Being promoted by the company as ‘Desh Ka Smartphone’ it is likely to be an entry-level model considering how heavily the mobile phone market of India is skewed towards the low-end segment. Incidentally, Reliance Industries’ Jio Phone was promoted as ‘India Ka Smartphone’ when it was unveiled in July this year, even though it is a feature phone. The upcoming Xiaomi handset, however, is unlikely to be a feature phone.

The cheapest handsets in Xiaomi’s portfolio so far have been priced at Rs. 5,999, so it will be interesting to see if the company will go below the Rs. 5,000 mark. There are rumours that it will be the Redmi 5Athat will launch in the country. The handset was recently unveiled in China as an upgrade to the Redmi 4A, with metal-like matte texture and eight-day battery life. There is no official word about when the handset will be launched in India or its price in the country - it is priced CNY 599 in China (roughly Rs. 5,900).

Xiaomi became the country’s biggest smartphone vendor in October, holding the position jointly with Samsung, and claims to have sold 9.2 million units in the past quarter. It opened a new manufacturing facility in Noida, Uttar Pradesh earlier this week, which will be used to locally manufacture its power banks. The last smartphones launched by the company were the youth-focused Redmi Y1 and Redmi Y1 Lite, which sold like hot cakes in the first sale. The company claims to have sold 150,000 units of the two phones within three minutes.

If the upcoming Xiaomi handset is indeed an entry-level model, it will be positioned below the Redmi Y1, which is priced at Rs. 6,999. Redmi 4A is still available in India too, at Rs. 5,999.  

China's former internet czar faces graft probe

 China's former internet czar, who oversaw a tightening of online censorship during his tenure, has become the latest top Communist Party figure to be ensnared in the country's anti-corruption drive.

The party's anti-graft agency said in a brief statement on its website late Tuesday that Lu Wei, 57, was being investigated for suspected "severe disciplinary violations".
Lu, who had stepped down from his post last year, was once named among the world's 100 most influential people by Time magazine and had rubbed shoulders with the likes of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

He had fiercely defended the country's censorship apparatus after he was appointed in 2013 to supervise controls on online expression as head of the Cyberspace Administration of China.

He is the most prominent figure to fall from grace since President Xi Jinping was given a second five-year term in office at a Communist Party congress last month.

Xi launched a major campaign against corruption when he took office in 2012 that has brought down 1.5 million officials since then.

At the congress that consolidated his power in October, Xi vowed no let up to the campaign against corruption, which he called the "greatest threat" to the party.
Lu was a powerful figure both at home and abroad, where he commanded the attention of global technology firms eager for a piece of the Chinese market.

He was personally received by Zuckerberg in 2014 at Facebook's Silicon Valley headquarters, and appeared in the front row of a group photo alongside top executives from American tech giants such as Amazon and Xi when the president visited the US in 2015.

Facebook is among a slew of Western websites, along with Twitter, Instagram and several news outlets, that are blocked by China's "Great Firewall" of internet censorship.

Authorities closely monitor what people say, see or share online, and block any content they deem illegal or politically sensitive.

Chinese nationals can face fines or even jail time for unfavourable social media posts.

Under Lu's watch, cyberspace regulations grew stricter with the passage of new online "security" regulations as part of a sweeping package of laws aimed at tightening state control over a wide range of domains.

While "the Chinese government has indeed expanded its power to control prominent problems online", Lu said in 2015, it has used its capabilities to control crime, pornography, and "rumours" -- a euphemism that can be applied to everything from misinformation to political speech.

Authorities have further tightened internet controls in recent months, shutting down celebrity gossip blogs and probing platforms for "obscenity".

Lu's investigation comes as China prepares to host its fourth World Internet Conference next month to promote its views about web policy, though the annual event has been criticised by rights groups.

This is how Uber paid hackers to cover up massive data breach

Uber Technologies Inc paid hackers $100,000 to keep secret a massive breach last year that exposed the personal information of about 57 million accounts of the ride-service provider, the company said on Tuesday.

Discovery of the U.S. company's cover-up of the incident resulted in the firing of two employees responsible for its response to the hack, said Dara Khosrowshahi, who replaced co-founder Travis Kalanick as CEO in August.

"None of this should have happened, and I will not make excuses for it," Khosrowshahi said in a blog post. (http://ubr.to/2AmxlQt)

The breach occurred in October 2016 but Khosrowshahi said he had only recently learned of it.

The hack is another controversy for Uber on top of sexual harassment allegations, a lawsuit alleging trade secrets theft and multiple federal criminal probes that culminated in Kalanick's ouster in June.

The stolen information included names, email addresses and mobile phone numbers of Uber users around the world, and the names and license numbers of 600,000 U.S. drivers, Khosrowshahi said.

Uber passengers need not worry as there was no evidence of fraud, while drivers whose license numbers had been stolen would be offered free identity theft protection and credit monitoring, Uber said. 

Two hackers gained access to proprietary information stored on GitHub, a service that allows engineers to collaborate on software code. There, the two people stole Uber's credentials for a separate cloud-services provider where they were able to download driver and rider data, the company said. 

A GitHub spokeswoman said the hack was not the result of a failure of GitHub's security.

"While I can't erase the past, I can commit on behalf of every Uber employee that we will learn from our mistakes," Khosrowshahi said. 

"We are changing the way we do business, putting integrity at the core of every decision we make and working hard to earn the trust of our customers."

Bloomberg News first reported the data breach on Tuesday.

Khosrowshahi said Uber had begun notifying regulators. The New York attorney general has opened an investigation, a spokeswoman said.

Regulators in Australia and the Philippines said on Wednesday they would look into the matter. Uber is seeking to mend fences in Asia after having run-ins with authorities, and is negotiating with a consortium led by Japan's SoftBank Group for fresh investment. SoftBank declined to comment.

Uber said it had fired its chief security officer, Joe Sullivan, and a deputy, Craig Clark, this week because of their role in the handling of the incident. Sullivan, formerly the top security official at Facebook Inc and a federal prosecutor, served as both security chief and deputy general counsel for Uber.

Sullivan declined to comment when reached by Reuters. Clark could not immediately be reached for comment.

Kalanick learned of the breach in November 2016, a month after it took place, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. At the time, the company was negotiating with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission over the handling of consumer data.

A board committee had investigated the breach and concluded that neither Kalanick nor Salle Yoo, Uber's general counsel at the time, were involved in the cover-up, another person familiar with the issue said. The person did not say when the investigation took place.

Uber said on Tuesday it was obliged to report the theft of the drivers' license information and had failed to do so. 

Kalanick, through a spokesman, declined to comment. The former CEO remains on the Uber board of directors, and Khosrowshahi has said he consults with him regularly.

CRIME PAYS

Although payments to hackers are rarely publicly discussed, U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation officials and private security companies have told Reuters that an increasing number of companies are paying criminal hackers to recover stolen data.

"The economics of being a bad guy on the internet today are incredibly favorable," said Oren Falkowitz, co-founder of California-based cyber security company Area 1 Security.

Uber has a history of failing to protect driver and passenger data. Hackers previously stole information about Uber drivers and the company acknowledged in 2014 that its employees had used a software tool called "God View" to track passengers.

Khosrowshahi said on Tuesday he had hired Matt Olsen, former general counsel of the U.S. National Security Agency, to restructure the company's security teams and processes. The company also hired Mandiant, a cybersecurity firm owned by FireEye Inc, to investigate the breach.

The new CEO has traveled the world since replacing Kalanick to deliver a message that Uber has matured from it earlier days as a rule-flouting startup.

"The new CEO faces an unknown number of problems fostered by the culture promoted by his predecessor," said Erik Gordon, an expert in entrepreneurship and technology at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business.

Vodafone deploys mobile vans for Aadhaar verification in Rajasthan

Leading telecom operator Vodafone has deployed two mobile vans to travel to the villages and smaller towns of Rajasthan, facilitating doorstep SIM upgrades and Aadhaar verification.

This program was initiated in back in January 2017, has covered over 450+ villages like Jhunjhunu, Mahapura, Hingoniya, Bhadra, Fatehpur, Bandikui, Makrana, Panchpadra, Phalodi etc, said the company in a statement.
Inviting the residents of rural Rajasthan to utilize the benefits provided by the Vodafone Mobile vans, Amit Bedi, business head- Rajasthan, Vodafone India, said, "Over the past years, Vodafone has added additional 4G sites to strengthen Vodafone SuperNetTM 4G and extended Vodafone's best network to more and more towns and villages in Rajasthan. The Vodafone Mobile Vans will ensure that our existing 2G/3G customers are able to enjoy the benefits of Vodafone SuperNetTM 4G with free SIM

 upgrade done at their doorstep. The service of linking SIM number with the customer's Aadhaar is an important step in line with Vodafone's commitment to a Digital India. I am happy to say that this service has now been made simple and accessible to our valued customers even in remote villages, through our Mobile vans. Over the past 10 months, we have helped thousands of customers with 4G SIM upgrades along with their Vodafone SIM linked with Aadhaar number."

Last week, the government had announced new methods to link the SIM with Aadhaar to make it easy for the mobile phone subscribers.

Starting December 1, this linking can be done online on telecom service provider's website and also using telco's voice-based IVR helpline. These two ways of verifying SIM to Aadhaar have got the approval of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).

In a ruling in February this year, the Supreme Court had said that all mobile phones in the country must be linked to Aadhaar by February 2018. All SIM cards that are not linked by this date will face deactivation.

Apple may have just made it tougher to buy iPhone X in India

Apple has reduced retail margins on the iPhone X by nearly 30%, frustrating large format chain owners and small-scale retailers that are crying foul that the Cupertino-based company does not want its retail partners to benefit while the company itself profits from the massive margins it makes.

Some like Bengaluru-based Sangeetha Mobiles have stopped taking orders of the new flagship, even as the costliest iPhone ever faces huge supply-demand mismatch in India, leading analysts to say that Apple should slot India far higher in its priority list and bring in larger shipments of the iPhone X.

"Apple has cut margins on the iPhone X from 6.5% to 4.5% for large retailers like us, and if a customer pays by card, which is usually the case, the margin reduces to almost 1.5-2%," said Subhash Chandra, managing director at Sangeetha Mobiles, which has 400 stores across the country.

"Apple gives the least margins... How on earth do they expect the retailer to work for them for free -- our overheads are anywhere around 10%," Chandra explained.
Apple declined to comment on the margin cuts and supply issues in India.

Industry insiders reveal that typically, brands such as Samsung or Xiaomi offer more than double the margin that Apple offers, around 12-15%. To gain share from competition, players like Oppo and Vivo were also giving higher than usual margins to retailers, but Apple has refrained from this practice.

Further, offline retailers complain that while they are facing the issue of margin cuts, online players are giving cashbacks and other discounts on iPhones, including the iPhone X, distorting a level playing field.

A chief executive of another top retail chain in India added that it had stopped stocking iPhones across its 300 stores due to the cut in margins and owing to lack of control on retail pricing in the online and offline markets.
Those in the unorganised trade also complain of Apple having cut margins on the iPhone X at a time when the device is under severe supply constraint.
"People are ready to give a premium on the phone, so we don't have an option but to work with Apple's margin cut and yet, face the ire of customers if the iPhone X is not available," said a leading retailer in the unorganised sector.

Another top handset retailer said that it had got only 400 units of the iPhone X in the first three weeks since launch, far less than what Apple had promised, underlining the supply issues.

Analysts said Apple should bring India, the world's second-largest handset market after China by volumes, further up on its priority list urgently and ensure adequate supplies, else it may be left with too wide a gap to bridge with its rival Android players like Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo and others already way ahead in terms of volumes.

"India should rank very high on Apple's priority index... it is yet to have a single owned and operated retail store in India," said Manjunath Bhat, research director at Gartner based out of Singapore.

Analysts at Counterpoint cautioned that the company may lose the plot in India if it waits too long for regulatory, policy or business certainty or the time when it can extract most value at minimum risk. They added that as the 350 million smartphone user base expands to 500 million over the next couple of years, many existing users would be looking to potentially upgrade to the best premium phone out there, iPhone.

They (Apple) will have to start now because if they lose a window of opportunity in next two years to be on mind of the growing smartphone user base, it would be somewhat difficult to grow faster in the world's second largest smartphone market," said Neil Shah, research director at Hong Kong based Counterpoint Research.

People familiar with Apple executives' thinking though countered, saying India was very high in priority for iPhone X stocks and supplies, and in fact, had got higher supplies than Thailand, which was a larger revenue generating market than India.

In the September-ended quarter's earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook had said that growing the market would require building stores, channels, markets, developer ecosystem and the right kind of product lineup.

New BlackBerry smartphone surfaces online on benchmarking website

 It seems that Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry is said to be working on a new smartphone. Recently, a new BlackBerry smartphone appeared on the benchmarking website Geekbench.

As per the website listing, the yet to launch BlackBerry smartphone carries a model name Qualcomm BBF100-1. The smartphone is said to be the successor of the BlackBerry KEYone which the company launched this year.

First spotted by GSMArena, the device is expected to be the successor of the KEYone because it has surfaced at the same as the earlier launched smartphone and it is likely to be named as the KEYtwo. The smartphone has scored 1532 in single core and 4185 in multi-core score tests. The device is expected to be powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor paired with 6GB of RAM.

To recall, the company launched the BlackBerry KEYone in August this year in India at a price tag of Rs 39,999. In terms of specifications, the BlackBerry KEYone comes with a 4.5-inch scratch resistant display with 1080x1620 pixels resolution. Running Android 7.1 Nougat operating system, the device is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor. The smartphone offers 4GB of RAM and 64GB internal storage which can be expanded up to 2TB via microSD card.

The device sports a 12MP Sony IMX378 sensor with f/2.0 aperture and dual-tone LED flash. There is also an 8MP front-facing shooter with 84-degree wide-angle lens and f/2.2 aperture. Measuring 149.3x72.5x9.4mm, the smartphone is backed by a 3505mAh non-removable battery. The company claims that it is the largest battery till date in any Blackberry smartphone. The device also supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 for fast charging.

On the connectivity front, the smartphone offers Wi-Fi, 4G, NFC, GPS, Bluetooth v4.2 and 3.5mm headphone jack. The smartphone also sports a USB Type C and the Boost feature for better user experience.

Apple iMac Pro may sport a new theft protection system with no way of switching it off

Apple iMac Pro is set to arrive in December this year. Although the company has already introduced the PC and have given its technical specifications, there are still some features that are being revealed by developers and other websites. One such feature has been found by Pike's Universum website.
The website says that the yet-to-be-released Apple iMac Pro may feature a new 'Find my iMac Pro' theft feature. The feature reportedly sends an alert of the stolen iMac Pro. The alert may include the device's location based on its GPS tracking tech. The website adds that users won't be able to switch it off.

"Even the cheapest iMac Pro costs $4999 and is thus far more expensive than any other iMac model that is now available, let alone the top of the line one with a price tag north of $10K, and it is 'relatively easy' to walk away with a 27-inch computer, and that may be why Apple is going to introduce a new kind of "Find my iMac Pro" type of theft protection. One that phones home to report the exact GPS location. And there's no way of switching it off..."

The site goes on to state that Apple may find a way to bring a feature that would require a SIM card in the iMac Pro. Using the SIM card it can 'call' the connected iPhone device and alert users of the theft.

This is not the only new feature that is being said to arrive in the company's one of the most powerful desktops. Few developers recently dug out some details about the PC stating that it may run on Apple A10 co-processor and have 'Hey Siri' integration. The processor currently powers the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus. Siri may also support multiple user profiles.

Samsung Gear S3’s Value Pack update brings enhanced fitness tracking and other features

 Samsung launched its smartwatch Gear S3 in India in January this year at Rs 28,500. The company has now started rolling an update for the device. Called as the Value Pack update, it brings various new features and productivity enhancements to the smartwatch. Along with this, the company has also revamped the Gear smartphone app which will now show the changes in the watch interface.

With the new update, the company has introduced the Samsung Health Fitness Program feature which will make the indoor workout easier. This will enable the Gear S3 users to watch exercise programmes from their synced smartphone on TV. Once connected, the users can use their smartwatch to control the displayed content and display their heart rates on the TV.

The smartwatch will now be able to monitor realtime heartbeat with improved accuracy and detailed feedback. There is also a nutrition management feature which will allow the users to control their weight more efficiently. Using the feature, users will be able to keep a check on their calories intake and set daily targets accordingly.

Apart from the fitness features, the update also brings in some features which make it easier to communicate. The users will now be able to edit, synchronize and add new contacts directly from the smartwatch. Along with this, the users will also be able to set a location, meeting or create reminders using the device. Presently, the reminder feature is only available for Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8 Plus and Galaxy Note 8 smartphones.

Post the update, the watch display will be able to offer more information such as apps, widgets and icons. There are also some visual enhancements and customisation offers for the users. Moreover, users can also use the bezel to naturally move from a text message notification to the reply input.

The company in a blog post said, "Gear S3 owners also now have the option to sort apps in the order in which they were most recently used in addition to being able to customize their location. The Moment Bar, which allows users to adjust the volume, check the battery level and more, is easily accessed with a swipe up or down from any screen."

The Gear S3 comes in two variants - Frontier and Classic. The two variants differ in terms of weight, design and connectivity options available. While the Classic version weighs 57g, has a 'minimalistic elegant' design and does not have support for 3G/LTE, the Frontier variant weighs 62g, sports a rugged outdoor 'enduring' style and is 3G/LTE-enabled.

4 gadgets that will make your car ‘smarter’

Gadgets are not restricted to just smartphones, tablets and laptops. There are a number of gadgets that can also make your driving experience a lot better than what it is. Here, we list out a few such gadgets that you can try:

In-Car Entertainment system

You would surely miss having a screen in your car if you have a love for watching movies -- considering that a lot of cars in the budget segment don't come with built in screens. Blaupunkt lets you have one without the hassle of struggling with the wiring or pulling out the seat. Blaupunkt Android In-Car Entertainment only requires power supply from a 12V power socket, which is available in most cars. So, it's like an Android tablet that you can use in your car. It has a universal headrest mount, so you can attach it to any car that has a removable headrest. The system comes with a microSD slot and a USB port and requires an internet connection for playing media. It also has speakers and a 3.5mm jack and support for Bluetooth.

Another in-car entertainment option that you can try is Parrot Asteroid Smart. It features a 6.2-inch touchscreen display and runs a customised version of Android. It has a number of features and lets you use GPS for navigation, play music, browse internet, and more.

Vehicle Tracker

One invests considerable sums of money when buying a car and that is why it's important to keep it safe. A vehicle tracker is a gadget that is a necessity inside a car, considering the number of car thefts are on a rise. You can always go for the Carnot Vehicle Tracker, which is a GPS + GSM tracker that can be installed without wiring or modifications. It is a small dongle that can be installed in the On-board Diagnostic (OBD) port of the car. It works with an app that you will have to download on your smartphone. You will have to tell the app which car you own, and it will then guide you with the location of your car. You will be able to see your car on GPS, set geofences, view basic diagnostic information and do so much more.

If you feel that internet is something you just cannot live without and don't rely too much on mobile hotspots, then you would definitely appreciate an in-car Wi-Fi hotspot. You can try Alcatel's Linkzone mobile Wi-Fi device. It is compact and lightweight and claims to have a battery that can deliver more than 12 days of standby power. If you use it constantly, it will supposedly last for six hours. The Wi-Fi hotspot can support 15 devices at once.

Smart car coffee maker

In-car Wi-Fi hotspot

Coffee is the first thing many people turn to every morning and if you fall in that category, then a coffee maker in your car is a great addition. You can try the Handpresso Auto 12V coffee maker, which can be plugged into the car's 12V socket. It is also compatible with Easy Serving Espresso pod and is supposed to prepare a cup of espresso in 2 minutes.

Apple's first VP of inclusion and diversity leaves after 6 months

San Francisco, Denise Young Smith, who joined Apple in May as its first Vice President of inclusion and diversity, will leave the company at the end of the year.

"We deeply believe that diversity drives innovation," an Apple spokesperson was quoted as saying by TechCrunch. 

Christie Smith will replace Young Smith to take over the position next year. He had spent 17 years as a principal at consulting firm Deloitte.

"We're thrilled to welcome an accomplished leader like Christie Smith to help us continue the progress we've made toward a more diverse workplace," the report added.

Earlier this month, Cornell Tech, a graduate school in New York had announced that Young Smith will be the new Executive-in-Residence at the university and will begin her role in January 2018.

Young Smith has been with the tech giant since 1997. She was serving as human resource chief before taking her position in diversity and inclusion in May.

She faced backlash over her comments on diversity while speaking at a conference last month.

"There can be 12 white, blue-eyed, blonde men in a room, and they're going to be diverse too because they're going to bring a different life experience and life perspective to the conversation," she had said.

Qualcomm set to win conditional Japanese antitrust okay for NXP deal

US smartphone chipmaker Qualcomm is set to win "imminent" Japanese antitrust clearance for its $38-billion bid for NXP Semiconductors and gain Europe's approval by the end of the year with slight tweaks to its concessions, a person familiar with the matter said.

Winning the green light from both competition authorities would take Qualcomm a major step forward to closing the deal and reinforce its fight against an unsolicited $103-billion takeover bid from Broadcom.

The Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) "is expected to clear Qualcomm's acquisition of NXP imminently," the source said.

"The European Commission is expected to follow soon."

The JFTC did not respond to emailed requests for comments sent during out of office hours. The EU competition enforcer, which has set a March 15 deadline to rule on the deal, declined to comment while Qualcomm was not available for comment.

Qualcomm, which supplies chips to Android smartphone makers and Apple, wants to become the leading supplier to the fast-growing automotive chips market via the NXP purchase, the biggest-ever in the semiconductor industry.

To address competition concerns, the company has agreed not to purchase NXP's standard essential patents and not to take legal action against third parties related to NXP's near field communication (NFC) patents except for defensive purposes. It also offered an interoperability pledge which will allow rival products to function with NXP's products.

NXP co-invented NFC chips which enable mobile phones to be used to pay for goods and store and exchange data.

Qualcomm will make incremental changes to concessions offered to the EU authority last month, the person said. A similar proposal was also proposed to the JFTC.

Broadcom made its move last week in an effort to become the dominant supplier of chips used in the 1.5 billion or so smartphones expected to be sold around the world this year. Qualcomm has dismissed the offer, saying it undervalues the company.

Broadcom, Qualcomm and NXP together would have control over modems, Wi-Fi, GPS and near-field communications chips, a strong position that could concern customers such as Apple and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd because of the bargaining power such a combined company could have to raise prices. However, a combined company would also likely have a lower cost base and the flexibility to cut prices.