Taiwanese tech giant, Asus India, on Tuesday announced the expansion of its TUF laptop portfolio in India with the launch of new TUF Dash F15, a 15-inch gaming laptop at a starting price of Rs 1,39,990.

The new Asus laptop comes with the latest 11th generation Intel Core i7-11370H processor and GeForce RTX 3070/3060 GPU, for an unbeatable performance. The laptop was unveiled globally during a virtual conference at Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2021 and is finally set to make a mark in India.

“Powered with 11th generation Intel Core processors, TUF Dash F15 is all set to create new experiences and replicate the success of the series by creating new milestones in the Indian market. We are attuned with evolving consumer requirements and have them at the very core of our product development strategy, and with our latest offering we further aim at elevating their gaming experience,” said Arnold Su, Business Head, Consumer and Gaming PC, System Business Group, Asus India.

The device comes with a tournament-level gaming panel with up to a 240 Hz refresh rate, a versatile Thunderbolt 4 port, and Two-Way AI Noise Cancelation technology.

According to the company, the all-new Dash F15 is lighter and thinner than standard TUF gaming laptops, with only 19.9 mm thin and 2 kg weight while still meeting MIL-STD-810H military standards.

The laptop comes with up to 32 GB of DDR4-3200MHz memory and up to 1TB of space which aims to hold a massive collection of games, while an additional SSD slot makes it easy to add terabytes (TB) of extra capacity for massive multimedia files and more.

The Dash F15 features an easy-upgrade design that puts the Small outline Dual Input Memory Module (SO-DIMM) slot and both M.2 slots just behind the bottom panel held in place with standard Philips screws.

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The world’s top brands across sectors might lose between $93 billion and $223 billion because of a data breach, a first-of-its-kind study by Interbrand and Infosys, called ‘Invisible Tech, Real Impact’, has found.

This represents 4-9.6 per cent of their cumulative value.

The study gains significance in the backdrop of yet another massive hack, this time of Microsoft’s email software, which is estimated to have affected at least 60,000 known victims globally, according to Bloomberg.

The study found that there is a long-term impact of data breaches on brands across sectors. This is because companies are increasingly embracing digital platforms to improve customer experience, one of the reasons why customers are willing to pay a premium, it pointed out.

This has two implications: For consumers, it implies a quid pro quo –sharing personal information with brands for a personalised experience. For brands, it means the real and virtual have to coexist in creating this unique experience.

This is not just true for digital or tech brands like Google and Amazon, but also brands that were focused on offline. For instance, it is estimated that the amount of data shared online at the beginning of 2020 was a staggering 44 zetabytes.

Ameya Kapnadak, chief growth officer of Interbrand India, said the study evaluated parameters like financial value of the company, role and strength of the brand.

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Nokia is one of the last few brands that are still selling smartphones based on Android One platform in India. For the uninitiated, Android One is a family of Android smartphones powered by stock versions of Android with a focus on Google services. That said, the Nokia smartphones often come with an up-to-date Android operating system that has advertisement-free vanilla user interface and no pre-installed bloatware.

The Nokia 5.4, a new midrange smartphone from Finnish technology start-up HMD Global, which owns the Nokia brand, is banking on the Android One and select creator-centric imaging features. Priced Rs 13,999 onwards, the smartphone, however, seems to lag peers in price-to-specifications ratio. But how does it work out in real-life usage? Let’s find out:Design and Display

The Nokia 5.4 has a striking design, with Nordic colour-themed (polar night – review unit) curved back cover. Made of plastic, the back cover has a glossy gradient profile. It looks good but easily gets smudges and fingerprint marks, and is prone to scratches. Thankfully, the phone comes with a transparent TPU cover, which makes the phone look bulky but protects the back cover from unwanted smudges, fingerprint marks and scratches. Speaking of size, the phone is neither big nor small. It has comfortable ergonomics with lightweight build for ease of use. The phone has a camera bump on the back but it does not protrude much from the frame. Therefore, the camera bump mixes well with the phone’s design language and looks like a part of the overall package. Besides the camera module, the phone’s rear side houses a capacitive fingerprint sensor, which is quick to unlock the phone and works better compared to in-screen fingerprint sensors that are common in other midrange phones.

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After opening its 2021 account with budget and premium smartphones, Samsung is now looking at expanding its midrange line-up with the launch of the Samsung Galaxy F62. The smartphone is touted to be a performance-centric device powered by Exynos 9825 system-on-chip, Android 11 operating system-based OneUI 3.1 user interface, and a 7,000 mAh battery. Besides, the smartphone has a big 6.7-inch super AMOLED Plus Infinity-O (punch-hole) screen, 64-megapixel-based quad-camera set-up on the back, and fast-charging support.

On paper, the Samsung Galaxy F62 seems to be an all-round package. But how does it fare in real life? Let’s find out:Samsung Galaxy F62: Design

The Galaxy F62 seems boring when compared with other midrange smartphones. Made mostly of polycarbonate, the smartphone lacks novelty and looks regular despite its thin (9.5mm) and lightweight (218g) form factor. The phone’s back cover has a dual-tone gradient reflective finish with vertical silver lines running from top to bottom. Interestingly, even the frame is painted in dual-tone colour to maintain design symmetry. The frame features a power button (which doubles up as a fingerprint scanner) and volume rocker keys on the right, dual-SIM and microSD slot on the left side, secondary microphone opening on the top, and 3.5mm audio out port, USB-C charging and data transfer port, primary microphone, and mono speaker at the bottom. Though the gradient design looks good, the glossy finish makes it susceptible to fingerprints and smudges — not something you want if you are not in the habit of using a back cover. Speaking of the back cover, the Galaxy F62 does not come with one in the box.

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Microsoft has started testing its Chromium-powered Edge browser on the newly-launched Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S consoles.

According to The Verge, Xbox testers in the Alpha Skip-Ahead group can now access the new Microsoft Edge on Xbox One or Xbox Series S / X consoles.

However, full mouse and keyboard support is still missing.

“The new browser on Xbox will give users access to websites they want to surf on the controller,” the report said on Sunday.

The current test version also supports many of the same features from the desktop version of Edge that includes extensions and vertical tabs.

The current version of Edge also suffers from a few bugs at present. It currently supports navigation via Xbox controller.

Users can also expect the core Edge features to be available on the browser like support for extensions, Collections, and other desktop features.

The Edge browser also brings support for Google’s Stadia cloud-based streaming platform. The browser is also likely to help users play more browser-based games.

“Currently, the test is limited to Xbox testers in the Alpha Skip-Ahead group but hopefully, it won’t take Microsoft too long to release it to the public,” the report noted.

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Storage solutions major Western Digital on Monday launched its two new SanDisk portable SSDs that aim to offer nearly 2x the speed over previous generations.

According to the company, the SanDisk Extreme and SanDisk Extreme PRO portable SSDs are purpose-built to keep up with today’s high-quality content demands.

The SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD is available now in 500GB for Rs 7,999, 1TB at Rs 12,999 and 2TB for Rs 27,499, with the 4TB model shipping later in April 2021.

Meanwhile, the SanDisk Extreme PRO portable SSD is available now in 1TB Rs 19,999 and 2TB for Rs 34,999 with 4TB model shipping in April 2021.

“With the new range of SSDs in the segment, we have bumped up the speeds with the latest NVMe technology and used robust materials in our designs to make the devices look trendy while being rugged enough to help back up heavy files safely,” Khalid Wani, Director Sales, India, Western Digital, said in a statement.

With capacities up to 4TB, the new NVMe drives are made for creating content or capturing and moving incredible 4K and 8K footage with ease, which will be available in India from April 2021.

The flagship SanDisk Extreme PRO portable SSD features a forged aluminum chassis made to stay cool under the pressure of a heavy workload and a durable silicone design to withstand the rigors of production.

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Lenovo-owned Motorola is set to launch Moto G10 Power and Moto G30 in India on Tuesday. The launch event for both the smartphones will start at 12 pm IST and the phones will be available on e-commerce giant Flipkart. The two budget smartphones were launched in China last month. Some reports claim that Moto G10 Power is a rebranded version of Moto G10 which was launched in China.

What are the key features both the smartphones are expected carry?

Let’s take a look

Moto G10 Power

For a budget phone expected to be priced under Rs 15,000, G10 Power is expected to be loaded with great features.

Display

The phone will have a 6.5 inch IPS LCD display and an aspect ratio of 20:9. The smartphone will have a bezel-less display with a waterdrop notch on it. It is expected to have a screen resolution of 720 x 1600 pixels with a pixel density of 270ppi.

Camera

G10 Power will have quad camera setup on the back with a 48 MP primary camera. It will also have an 8 MP ultra wide angle shooter, a 2MP macro camera, and a 2 MP depth camera. The camera also features HDR mode, autofocus, LED flash, digital zoom and face detection, among others. It will also have an 8 MP front camera.

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Smartphone maker OPPO on Monday launched its latest F 19 Pro Series smartphones – F19 Pro+ 5G and F19 Pro with quad rear cameras and feature Super AMOLED displays in the Indian market.

OPPO F19 Pro+ price starts at Rs 25,990 for the sole 8GB RAM + 128GB storage variant. The OPPO F19 Pro, on the other hand, has 8GB RAM + 128GB storage option at a price tag of Rs. 21,490 and 8GB RAM + 256GB storage model at Rs. 23,490.

“The launch of each generation of the F series has raised the bar of what consumers expect from a mid-range smartphone. With AI Highlight Portrait Video, Smart 5G, 50W Flash Charge and our proprietary System Performance Optimizer make the OPPO F19 Pro+ 5G a delight to use,” Damyant Singh Khanoria, Chief Marketing Officer, OPPO Mobiles India Pvt. Ltd, said in a statement.

OPPO F19 Pro+ features a 6.4-inch full-HD+ (1,080×2,400 pixels) Super AMOLED display with 20:9 aspect ratio and 60Hz refresh rate.

Under the hood, the Oppo F19 Pro+ has the octa-core MediaTek Dimensity 800U SoC, along with 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM.

The device houses a quad rear camera setup that carries a 48MP primary sensor with an f/1.7 lens, 8MP wide-angle macro shooter, 2MP portrait sensor, and a 2MP macro shooter.

The smartphone features a 16MP selfie camera sensor.

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Vivo is likely to launch its X60 series in India towards the end of March, Vivo India Director of Brand Strategy Nipun Marya confirmed during a virtual press briefing on Friday. The series comprises Vivo X60, Vivo X60 Pro, and Vivo X60 Pro+ that were initially launched in China.

Vivo also announced its imaging-focussed Vision+ initiative for mobile photography enthusiasts. It also revealed that it is set to bring a new phone with RGBW camera sensor. The Vision+ initiative aims to create a visual content ecosystem for mobile photography enthusiasts. This will include content co-creation, education, and cultural exchanges.

The company claims that the initiative will first start with the upcoming Vivo X60 series in India. It is said to be based on four pillars including VISION+ Mobile Photography Awards, Vivo VISION+ Mobile Photography Academy, the Vivo VISION+ Master Class, and the Vivo VISION+ Photographers Federation.

With Vivo VISION+ Mobile Photography Awards, the brand plans to invite smartphone users to showcase their photography skills. On the other hand, vivo VISION+ Mobile Photography Academy focuses on bringing an artistic and cultural exchange platform closer to the users. The Academy will soon invite world-class photographers to conduct Masterclasses to inspire people to transcend from clicking images to capturing moments filled with emotions and feelings. The vivo VISION+ Photographers Federation, vivo plans to collaborate with more creators to explore the limitless possibilities of mobile photography, which will ultimately contribute to advancements and developments in vivo products, the company said in a statement.

The Vivo X60 and X60 Pro were launched in December last year in China, the high-end flagship X60 Pro+ variant was unveiled in January, 2021.

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OnePlus on Monday announced a three-year partnership with Sweden-based camera manufacturer Hasselblad to co-develop the smartphone camera systems. The first camera system to come out from this partnership will feature on the OnePlus 9 series, which is set to globally launch on March 23. In addition, OnePlus announced its plans to invest more than $150 million over the next three years to further build out its smartphone mobile imaging capabilities.

“OnePlus has always prioritised a premium user experience over everything else. Beginning in 2021, we are making a concerted effort to significantly improve the smartphone camera experience for our users, with the expertise of a truly legendary partner in Hasselblad,” said Pete Lau, Founder and CEO of OnePlus.

OnePlus said that in partnership with Hasselblad, the Chinese smartphone maker aims to deliver vastly improved camera systems on future OnePlus smartphones, including the upcoming OnePlus 9 Series. According to OnePlus, the partnership will develop over the next three years, starting with software improvements including color tuning and sensor calibration, and extending to more dimensions in the future. The OnePlus 9 series will feature ‘Natural Color Calibration with Hasselblad’. Through the new colour solution, OnePlus aims to bring more perceptually accurate and natural-looking colours to photos taken with OnePlus flagship cameras. It also will serve as OnePlus’ new standard for colour calibration for its future smartphone cameras.

Besides, the upcoming OnePlus smartphone will boasts the new Hasselblad Pro Mode, which would bring Hasselblad’s class-leading sensor calibration to a smartphone for the first time, resulting in accurate and natural colour for a solid foundation for post-editing. According to OnePlus, the Hasselblad Pro Mode has been revamped with a new user interface based on Hasselblad’s image processing software to give users an authentic Hasselblad look and feel. It also allows for an unprecedented amount of control for professional photographers to fine-tune their photos, with the ability to adjust ISO, focus, exposure times, white balance and more. Users can also use 12-bit RAW format for even richer color and higher dynamic range.

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