Amazon Echo devices now available to all customers

Amazon has opened up the sales of the Echo devices in India to everyone. The devices can now be purchased online through Amazon.in and offline through 350 retail stores across 20 cities, including Croma, Reliance, Vijay Sales, Crossword and more. Amazon first launched the Echo series in India back in October 2017 but back then the devices were only available on an invite basis. It took the company four months to open up the sales for everyone, during which time it mostly spent making Alexa better. Alexa in India has been revamped considerably to work with Indian voices and...

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Microsoft Photos Companion app for Android and iOS helps ease transfers to a PC

Microsoft has launched a new app for both Android and iOS today. It's called Photos Companion and its name is pretty self-explanatory. Its aim is to help you easily transfer the photos you have on your phone to your Windows 10 PC. They will then be available in the Windows 10 Photos app. To use it, after you've installed it from the iOS App Store or the Google Play Store, you just scan the QR code shown in the Windows Photos app. To make sure that has the required functionality, grab the latest update from the Microsoft Store. Once your phone and the Windows 10 Photos app are...

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Here's why Samsung stopped the Oreo update for the Galaxy S8 and S8+

A week after releasing the Oreo update for the Galaxy S8 and S8+, Samsung stepped on the breaks. What happened? An issue that was not caught during beta testing reared its surprise reboot head, that's what. Following a limited number of cases where Galaxy S8 and S8+ devices have rebooted unexpectedly with the Android 8.0 Oreo, we have temporarily stopped the rollout of the update. We are investigating the issue internally to ensure that the impact to the affected devices is minimized and the rollout of the update can resume as quickly as possible. If your phone has downloaded the...

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Refurbished Pixel 2 down to $530 today

Google will charge you $650 for a Pixel 2, $750 if you want 128GB storage. Woot! has a better deal, though with a catch - it's a certified refurbished device. You do get 1 year Google warranty with it. The 64GB model is $530 while the 128GB one is $580 (available in Just Black only). Keep in mind that this deal is for today only - there are about 13 hours left (and a limited supply to go around). Google Pixel 2: Just Black • Clearly White • Simply Blue Note that this is the Verizon model, but it has most of the bands necessary for the other US carriers. The one notable...

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New major iOS bug can crash most of your messaging apps

A new iOS 11.2.5 bug has been discovered, which affects iPhones and can crash iMessage, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Gmail or Outlook. All it takes is a specific Telugu symbol and the app becomes nonresponsive. Telugu is an Indian language spoken by some 72 million people and it's unclear why iOS 11.2.5 has trouble loading its symbols. Once the symbol is received the only way to recover access to iMessage is if another person sends you a message and you delete the other thread, containing the troublesome symbol. Another iOS bug is crashing iPhones and disabling access to iMessage...

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Official Galaxy S9 cases now available, including a cloth Clear View case

It's a little known fact about the mobile world that phone cases have no patience - they never wait for their phone companion to be unveiled before they barge into stores. We've seen Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ cases before, but now MobileFun brings us the full set of official cases. The hyperknit cover is available in Red, as expected. But more interesting is the other cloth case - it has a flap on the front, which lets the Always On screen shine through (just like a Clear View cover). Galaxy S9 cases: Hyperknit (Gray) • Hyperknit (Red) • LED Flip Wallet Galaxy S9...

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Nokia to consider the future of its Digital Health business

Nokia purchased the French digital health company Withings back in 2016 and less than two years later is considering what to do with it. An official press release stated the Digital Health business is going into strategic review, effectively meaning Nokia is thinking if it should sell or even shut down the whole department. Nokia Steel HR Losing the Digital Health division could be a big blow for Nokia. The info about a strategic review comes just 4 months after canceling the OZO VR project due to slower-than-expected development of the market. In the brief press message the...

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Qualcomm may follow up its 7nm modem with a 7nm chipset: the Snapdragon 855

Qualcomm unveiled its first 7nm chips yesterday. But there's more to the story - Qualcomm contractors may be gearing up to build the Snapdragon 855 on a 7nm process as well. Qualcomm won't say it, but their contractors do. Snapdragon 855 (SDM855) is the first 7nm SoC. (probably the one the X24 modem ends up in) pic.twitter.com/Ot1J34fQoG— Roland Quandt (@rquandt) February 15, 2018 The upcoming 845 chip is being built on a 10nm Low Power Plus process, an incremental upgrade over the 10nm Low Power Early process used in the 835. Samsung (which is fabbing the chips) claims 10% higher...

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Motorola launches Limited Edition Z2 Force bundle in India with TurboPower Mod

Motorola has launched the Moto Z2 Force in India. The phone is priced at INR 34,999 ($547) and will include a Moto TurboPower Mod. The phone will be available online through Flipkart and offline through Moto Hubs across India, starting February 15, 23:59 IST. Moto Z2 Force The Moto Z2 Force is currently the flagship device in Motorola's range. As the name suggests, it is part of Motorola's rugged series of devices that include the ShatterShield display that has a plastic layer over the display that is resistant to cracking under stress. The body is made out of rugged 7000 series...

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Samsung teases reimagined camera on the Galaxy S9

Samsung has released another quick video teaser for the upcoming Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ this time focusing on the camera in its entirety. The previous promo video teased the new slow-motion and low-light abilities of the Galaxy S9 camera, this one hints at better selfies, selfie video, some sort of Snapchat-like animation effects (like the ones the Galaxy S/S8+ already have), flash and low light photography and finally Boomerang-like warp videos. The word reimagined suggests that Samsung's new flagship camera(s) will be much more than just refined, but will be completely...

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Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S to come with Sony IMX363, firmware confirms

This Saturday, an official-looking Xiaomi teaser of the Mi Mix 2S appeared on Weibo suggesting 6" tall screen, Snapdragon 845 chipset, 8 GB RAM and a dual camera on the back. Today firmware files were leaked and confirmed the rumored specs, while also revealing that the camera of the new Xiaomi phablet will have a Sony IMX363 sensor. IMX363 most likely to come with the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S The dual camera will be a first for the Mi Mix series and it will have some AI features like scene recognition. There will be also the usual MIUI features, although object tracking, auto HDR and...

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Samsung patents a way for smartwatches to measure blood pressure

Many smartwatches (even smartbands) can measure your heart rate, but very few can measure blood pressure. That's because to measure blood pressure, you need a tight-fitting band that presses into your hand uncomfortably. A patent shows that Samsung may have figured out a way to make the measurement with a light sensor similar to the heart rate sensors. The patent drawings show a watch, called Samsung Gear X (not to be confused with Gear IconX). The design shown is similar to the original Gear watches and we're pretty sure it's just a placeholder (same for the name). The way...

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Facebook launches Messenger Kids for Android

Facebook's modified Messenger Kids app is now available on Android, having been already available on iOS and Amazon Fire tablets. The application is aimed at 6- to 12-year old children and lacks in-app purchases or Hide options so that parents can have more control over any unsolicited messages. Messenger Kids The app gives kids the ability to have more fun, the listing on the Play Store claims. Facebook added kid-appropriate stickers, GIFs, frames and emojis to help kids "creatively express themselves." There are also one-to-one video calls with interactive AR...

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BlackBerry Motion now officially available in EU

The BlackBerry Motion smartphone is now officially available in most parts of Europe. The company's EU store has started offering the device as well as its accessories across 28 European countries. The phone was already available in some parts of Europe, but now it's more widely available in the continent. As for pricing, the handset carries a tag of €469.00 with delivery costs between €6.56 and €13.75. The available accessories include a Hard Shell, Peep Proof Flipcase, and Tempered Glass Screen. The complete list of country availability is: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia,...

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