Fastrack today announced three new products under Fastrack Reflex portfolio – Fastrack Reflex 3.0, Fastrack Reflex 2C Pay, and Fastrack Reflex Tunes which marks the brand’s entry into the Hearables segment.

The products will be available in Fastrack stores and Fastrack.in and start from Rs 1795.

Reflex 3.0 is the newest smart band from the company that comes in dual tone with more than ten sports modes tracker ranging from Yoga, running, hiking to cycling and offers 20 watch faces which can be matched with interchanging straps.

Priced at Rs 2,495, the smart band has 10-day battery life, Reflex 3.0 is water-resistant and is equipped with a heart rate monitor along with features like phone finder, sleep tracker, idle alert and vibration alarm, etc.

The Reflex 3.0 is also supported with an app called Fastrack Reflex World, which provides the user with fitness activity report and in future will give access to health and diet tips, new workout suggestions.

Fastrack is soon likely to launch Reflex 2C Pay powered by YONO SBI, a contactless payment solution in the form of a fashionable sleek fitness band. Reflex 2C Pay assists consumers to make contactless payment and also help them with their fitness regime. The watch comes with features like sleep and activity tracker, phone finder, music control, 7 day power reserve and more.

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Chinese tech major Xiaomi will soon introduce smart TVs under the ‘Redmi’ brand in India as it looks to further expand its position in the burgeoning smart TV segment in the country.

Speaking to PTI, Xiaomi India Category Lead (Smart TV) Eshwar Nilakantan said when the company had introduced its smart TVs in 2018, its aim was to increase the smart TV penetration in the country and “democratise” the segment.

“In 2018, the penetration was 18 per cent, less than one-fifth of the TVs sold were smart and we wanted to democratise the segment like we had done for smartphones. Since then, the 18 per cent has grown to a little over 55 per cent. We have grown with the market and sold over 5 million smart TVs,” he said.

Nilakantan explained that India has over 200 million households, of which 170 million have a TV – 100 million of those are CRT TV and 70 million have a flat monitor.

“Smart TV penetration is only 20 million. So if you look at this overall market, there are 50 million people who would be coming and buying a smart TV, and even the 100 million households who have a CRT will be upgrading directly to a smart TV, that is a massive opportunity,” he added.

A number of smartphone players such as Samsung, LG, Micromax, OnePlus, Infinix and Motorola have smart TVs in their product portfolio in India.

According to Counterpoint Research, shipments of TVs in India grew 15 per cent annually to reach the highest-ever 15 million units in 2019, and the growth was mainly driven by budget smart TVs, with 32-inch TVs the leading segment.

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Jabra has launched Jabra Evolve2 30 headphones with a 2-microphone call technology for voice calls and online meetings.

Launched in two variants – STEREO and MONO — the Evolve2 30 STEREO costs Rs 12,149 and Evolve2 30 MONO costs Rs 10,922. The headphones will be available for sale from mid-March through Jabra authorised resellers. Both the headphones are available in black colour,

It also has 28mm speakers and an ‘advanced digital chipset’ for improved audio quality for both calls and playback.

These include a dedicated Microsoft Teams button so you can jump in and out of virtual meetings easily.

The Evolve2 30 is also available in a Microsoft Teams certified variant, which comes with a dedicated Microsoft Teams button so you can jump in and out of virtual meetings with just one touch, while the boom arm allows you to easily mute and unmute yourself in an instant.

The headphones have oval memory foam ear cushions with the angled earcup design and a single-sided busylight that turns on automatically when you’re on a call and can also be turned on manually to signal “do-not-disturb”.

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The interesting Xiaomi-realme war on social media has once again gain attention of their fans and this time, it is regarding the camera technology, as both the companies claim that they brought smartphones housing 64MP sensor to the world, with realme saying on Friday that they offered the first-ever “hands-on experience” on the technology.

According to realme, it showcased its latest 64MP quad-camera set up to the consumers and fans in India on August 8, 2019, and “was the first to provide the world a hands-on experience of 64MP quad-camera and the technology behind it”.

“realme marked that day by hosting a unique photography event in New Delhi, wherein the audience was provided with a personal experience and briefing about the 64MP technology,” the company told IANS.

“realme has consistently delivered a cutting-edge, premium smartphone experience to Indian customers at the most value-driven price points and has always showcased its true commitment towards its fans,” it added.

Xiaomi’s Redmi brand showcased the 64MP camera technology in China on August 6, 2019 while realme said it showcased the same sensor “hands-on” in New Delhi on August 8, 2019.

Redmi Note 8 series was launched in China on August 29, 2019 with the same 64MP camera while realme XT smartphone with 64MP sensor arrived in India on September 13, 2019.

Redmi Note 8 Pro with the same camera technology was launched in India on October 16.

Both the brands have now locked horns with the 108MP camera in their devices.

While Xiaomi has launched Redmi Note 10 Pro Max with the 108MP sensor, realme is set to bring the same technology in its next offering later this month.

According to industry experts, for consumers, the camera continues to be a major smartphone purchase determinant.

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OnePlus is planning to launch its new flagship OnePlus 9 series and now, a new report has claimed that the company may also launch Nord 2 in Q2 2021.

According to Android Central, Nord 2 will be powered by MediaTek’s Dimensity 1200 chipset.

Mediatek’s flagship Dimensity 1200 SoC is an octa-core chipset based on a 6nm manufacturing process and clocked at 3GHz. Besides this, the chipset is 5G and WiFi 6 capable.

It has a prime Cortex A78 core that goes up to 3.0GHz, three additional A78 cores at up to 2.6GHz, and four Cortex A55 cores that can go up to 2.0GHz for energy-efficient tasks.

The OnePlus Nord has been quite a success for OnePlus, especially in some markets. That device is powered by the Snapdragon 765G, a respected mid-range processor.

The OnePlus Nord 2 could retain a similar price or the Nord when it launches later this year.

Earlier, OnePlus CEO Pete Lau teased a “moonshot” announcement, hinting the next big launch on March 8 which is going to be the OnePlus 9 series.

“Stay tuned for March 8,” Lau tweeted, with a similar-looking photo from the Apollo 8 mission.

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WhatsApp will Thursday roll out voice and video calling from the desktop, making it easier for people to take calls at their convenience. Voice and video calls on WhatsApp Web will also be end-to-end encrypted, ensuring that WhatsApp can’t hear or see them, whether you call from your phone or your computer.

“We’re starting with one-to-one calls on the WhatsApp desktop app so we make sure we can give you a reliable and high-quality experience. We will be expanding this feature to include group voice and video calls in the future,” the company said in a statement.

The Facebook-owned messaging app had been testing this feature for very few users since late last year.

In order to make a WhatsApp desktop call, you need to have a Windows 10 64-bit version 1903 and newer or macOS 10.13 and newer.

One of the reasons for WhatsApp to roll out this feature is increased calling on the platform due to the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

“Throughout the last year we’ve seen significant increases in people calling one another on WhatsApp, often for long conversations. Last New Year’s Eve, we broke the record for the most calls ever made in a single day with 1.4 billion voice and video calls. With so many people still apart from their loved ones, and adjusting to new ways of working, we want conversations on WhatsApp to feel as close to in-person as possible, regardless of where you are in the world or the tech you’re using,” the company said. “Answering on a bigger screen makes it easier to work with colleagues, see your family more clearly on a bigger canvas, or free up your hands to move around a room while talking,” it added.

India is WhastApp’s largest market with over 400 million users. According to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the platform has 530 million users in the country.

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Google on Wednesday said it will not build “alternate identifiers” to track individuals as they browse across the web nor will use them in its products once third-party cookies are phased out, as the tech giant progresses towards a more “privacy-first web”.

In January last year, Google had announced that it will phase out use of third-party cookies – typically used to track users on the web – in Chrome within two years.

In a blogpost, Google highlighted that there has been a proliferation of individual user data across thousands of companies, typically gathered through third-party cookies, and that this has led to an “erosion of trust”.

It cited data from Pew Research Centre that said a large majority of people feel that almost all of what they do online is being tracked by advertisers, technology firms or other companies, and many say the potential risks they face because of data collection outweigh the benefits.

“If digital advertising doesn’t evolve to address the growing concerns people have about their privacy and how their personal identity is being used, we risk the future of the free and open web. That’s why last year, Chrome announced its intent to remove support for third-party cookies,” Google said.

The company added that it has been working with the broader industry on the ‘Privacy Sandbox’ to build innovations that protect anonymity, while still delivering results for advertisers and publishers.

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Realme is going to unveil its latest 5G smartphone, Realme GT 5G, on Thursday. The model will be launched in China and later in India too. While Realme is yet to confirm dates for India launch, thanks to promotional teasers and leaks, we already know some of the features of the phone.

Keep reading to find out more about the upcoming smartphone

Specifications

According to reports, Realme is working on a MediaTek version which will be part of its “Dual Platform-Dual Flagship” strategy. The smartphone will be equipped with Super AMOLED display and a 120Hz refresh rate. The smartphone is likely to have Ford GT inspired design and will be a mix of black and yellow colours with dual tone vegan leather design, according to reports. It might get a punch-hole display design and feature a single cut out for a selfie camera.

Realme GT 5G will have Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 888 processor. The processor is based on a 5nm process. The same processor is also expected to power OnePlus 9 series and Realme K40. The phone is also expected to come with a stainless-steel VC cooling system which will help better the heat dissipation performance of the smartphone.

The smartphone will be powered by a powerful 5,000mAh battery. Reports also say that it will come with a 125W fast charger. The smartphone will likely come with Realme UI 2.0 based on Android 11. The phone will support 5G, 4G LTE, Bluetooth, GPS, Wi-Fi 6, and USB Type-C port.

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Xiaomi is gearing up for the global debut of its Redmi Note 10 series from India on Thursday at 12 pm. The Chinese technology company is expected to launch at least three models in the Redmi Note 10 series, including a model with 108-megapixel-based quad-camera array on the back. The series is expected to be powered by Qualcomm mobile processors, big capacity batteries, and Android operating system based MIUI user interface. Importantly, the series is expected to bring smartphone with 4G LTE network connectivity, and not 5G.Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 series: Livestream details

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 series launch event is set to begin at 12 pm on March 4. The virtual event will livestream on Xiaomi India’s YouTube channel. Besides, Xiaomi will share live updated from the event on its social media handles on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

You can watch the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 series launch livestream through the video embed below.

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Microsoft has unveiled a unique app called Group Transcribe that lets people capture real-time collective meeting transcriptions using their smartphones, including in Hindi.

A product of Microsoft’s experimental division Garage, Group Transcribe uses a multi-device approach to provide real-time, high quality transcription and translation, so users can be more present and productive during in-person meetings and conversations.

“Group Transcribe allows us to address an authentic, ad-hoc, interactive mobile scenario to help people communicate without language barriers. Improving these models with usage data will ensure that our customers will have the best experience,” said Xuedong Huang, Technical Fellow and CTO of Cognitive Services at Microsoft.

The app is now available for free on iOS and supports several languages in over 80 locations globally.

To use the app, conversation participants start a shared session and each leverage their phone’s microphone to capture a highly accurate transcript, showing who said what in real-time.

One person starts a transcription and can invite others to join by sharing a five-letter conversation QR code or by joining the group transcription with nearby sharing over Bluetooth.

“The users can skip note-taking and focus their attention on the conversation itself. Transcripts are easy to share or relocate after the fact,” said the company.

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