AWS Fargate vs Cloud Run: Battle of the Serverless Containers

"We are proud to be running our application completely serverless, it has reduced our efforts and costs in the long run."
"Containers have revolutionized our development process. Our developers now exactly know how the application will perform in production."

AWS and Google: "Welcome Serverless Containers"

Yes, serverless containers are here. Are they here to stay? We'll come to know about that.

AWS was first to the punch in this seemingly magical paradigm of deployment with Fargate, which they announced in November 2017. Initially announced with support for just ECS, EKS support is still not present.

Fargate essentially took away the need to manage VMs (nodes) for your ECS cluster. You still need to create tasks through ECS,  Fargate acts like a resource pool for your ECS.

GCP joined the party (kind of) in July 2018 with the announcement of GKE serverless add-on along with Cloud Services Platform (now Anthos). This was recently launched as it's own service, Cloud Run.

Cloud Run is designed to be as simple as possible for the every-developer. With containers becoming the de facto for shipping code, it makes sense to have a service which does all the heavy lifting. All you need to provide is a container image and Cloud Run does everything else for you. It is fully managed, with fast autoscaling, and you can deploy any container on it with an HTTP interface.

Cloud Run provides 2 options for you to use the service: as standalone or as an add-on for GKE. This opens more possibilities.

So what advantages does Fargate have over Cloud Run?

• Because it was announced earlier, Fargate is currently in GA while Cloud Run is still in Beta as of the writing of this article
• Fargate is available in 13 regions whereas Cloud Run is available only in the us-central-1 region as of the writing of this article.

But, Cloud Run fares better than Fargate with these points:

• Cloud Run encapsulates the true serverless container paradigm. You don't even need to create tasks definitions.
• You can use your existing Kubernetes cluster as a resource pool and abstract away the boring pieces.

My take is that Cloud Run has provided a new possible direction to the industry and others might follow suit.

Which service do you think is better to use? We'd love to hear your thoughts!

Learn more at:
https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2017/11/introducing-aws-fargate-a-technology-to-run-containers-without-managing-infrastructure/
https://cloudplatform.googleblog.com/2018/07/bringing-the-best-of-serverless-to-you.html
https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/serverless/announcing-cloud-run-the-newest-member-of-our-serverless-compute-stack
https://aws.amazon.com/fargate/
https://cloud.google.com/run/

Turing Announces the Turing Monolith with 3 SNAPDRAGON 830 Chipsets!

Turing Robotic Industries surprised the internet in the last week by announcing the Turing Phone Cadenza, a phone with 2 Snapdragon 830 Chipsets, 12 GB LPDDR4 RAM and other killer specs including a 60 MP rear camera and a 20 MP front camera.



Well, hold your breath if you're shocked with that because Turing Robotic Industries has just announced the Turing Monolith (inspired by the Sci-Fi book 2001: A Space Odyssey).

Just a glimpse of the specs of the Turing Monolith include: 3 Qualcomm Snapdragon 830 Chipsets, 18 GB LPDDR4 RAM, 1.2 TB Storage, 60GHz WiGig (IEEE 802.11ad) and 4 SIM card slots.

Turing has announced it's vision for Artificial Intelligence and Computational Intelligence in the press release sent via e-mail. But don't get your hopes high on getting this beast in-hands too soon, because the expected release date is in 2018.



If you're interested, you can check out the entire press release here.

The Hummingbad Malware

According to a CNET report, at least 10 million Android devices have been affected by a Chinese malware called 'HummingBad'. It was first discovered by a security company called Check Point who are said to have been tracking the malware since February. The malware came in to the spotlight earlier this month when CheckPoint published their report 'From HummingBad to worse'. It is suspected that a team of developers at Yingmob, an advertisement analytics company based in Beijing, are responsible for developing the malware. The malware has had its major impacts in China and India, both measuring up to a over a million device each.

First Look at Moto Z and MotoMods

When pictures of Motorola's next flagship were leaked, the tech community criticized Lenovo for making Motorola loose the "X-factor". And indeed it did, replacing it with the "Z-factor".

The Moto Z was announced at Lenovo Tech World in San Francisco, on 9th June, along with the Lenovo Phab 2, a 6.4 inch phone with Google's Project Tango.

Firebase: App Success Made Simple

Google left people completely awestruck at their recent unveiling at I/O 2016. From Google Home to Android N, Google introduced us with a host of new features and products that may get integrated into our lifestyle in the coming future. Among the less covered and speculated points so far, is an application developer's delight which goes by the name Firebase.

                                                          

Google Allo and Duo

A few days back, Google introduced us with what is known as Allo and Duo at their I/O 2016 in Mountain View, California. Allo is a smart messaging application while Duo is a video calling app. Google has released the keynote of the event and the following is what we make of these two new endeavors.



GOOGLE ALLO-

Google has been trying hard in the recent past to build a conversational structure into its applications so as to enhance the productivity and user experience. Significant improvements are seen in the Google Voice Assistant and the voice recognition has improved by over 20%.

Allo, which simply means 'different', is a smart messaging app. Google assures that with Allo, messaging would become intuitive and productive as it is engineered on the same chassis as the other smart tools. Google assures that the application will help conversations be all the more expressive. Now, the question is how? Allo lets you adjust the font size just as to describe the intensity of the words you are sending. Another great feature is the 'Smart Reply' feature which enables the user to choose Google-defined replies to revert back to a comment or more interestingly a photograph which is achieved by exquisitely crafted machine learning algorithms and near excellence image recognition. The interesting thing about Allo is that it has Google Assistant fitted right into it. So lets say someone asks you what the score was, the assistant would prompt the score in the conversation and all you would have to do is tap on the score to send it. Additionally, Allo also has an incognito mode which gives end to end encryption and deletes the conversation when it ends

Kindle Oasis: Amazon's Technological Feather

Amazon unveiled their new e-book reader, Kindle Oasis, which many describe is the funkiest so far. The device is designed elegantly and is meant to be the thinnest and lightest of the kind.It is as thin as 3.4 mm at its thinnest point and feather weight at 133 grams.

Tesla Model 3: The 35,000$ Batmobile

Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced their latest car, the Model 3 at their design studio in Hawthorne, California.

On the 2nd of August, 2006, Elon Musk wrote a blog post entitled "The Secret Tesla Motors Master Plan (just between you and me)" in which he famously concluded by writing,

"So, in short, the master plan is:

Build sports car

Use that money to build an affordable car

Use that money to build an even more affordable car

While doing above, also provide zero emission electric power generation options

Don't tell anyone."

Sony Xperia Ear,Eye,Projector and Agent: Technology of tomorrow

It was in 2009 when Pranav Mistry put something all the more astounding which he called "The Sixth Sense". The device had the capabilities to do things that were way ahead of it's time.

Seven years on, something on the similar lines was presented at the Mobile World Congress 2016. The Japanese tech giants Sony introduced a whole new range of accessories along with the new Xperia X handset family. Following is what we could gather on the products.


Xperia Ear-



Xperia Ear can be understood as sort of a remodeled version of what used to be the Bluetooth 'Hands-free' device. Now, the Ear can not just receive calls but also read out texts and documents and moreover even send voice messages through the inbuilt microphone module.
It has a proximity sensor so it knows when the device is plugged in your ear. The Ear can be programmed using Google Voice. So, each user can customize according to their needs. For instance, it can tell the weather forecast or score of a particular game or act as a navigator for instance.What we understand is that the Ear would also be transmitting and receiving data via Bluetooth. The design team has done considerable work to make the device as light as 6 grams. Moreover, the battery is speculated to last as long as 210 minutes. However if at all you run low on battery, the device will be accompanied with a charging case that doubles as a charger which will act as an additional power source.  From what Sony has revealed about the product, following are the specifications of the product:

The device will have accelerometers and gyroscopes built in subject to future research. The Xperia Ear will be available in the market this summer.

Yu Yutopia: India's First Flagship Killer

Yu is a brand that most Indians would be familiar by now as the phones which have Cyanogen OS and provide a good bang for the buck. Well, Yutopia is their newest phone and Yu has hit this one out of the park as it compares with the formidable Oneplus Two.

The first thing that you will notice is the design, which is remarkably elegant. From the Aluminum build to the Nexus-esque fingerprint scanner on the back, everything looks top notch. And looks are just the beginning. The specs on this phone scream BEAST.

SHOPCLUES FRAUD WEBSITE; DON'T EVER ORDER FROM SHOPCLUES

I ordered a Motorola Nexus 6 from Shopclues on 15th October and received a used phone on 22nd October. As soon as I saw the phone was used, I registered a return complaint on Shopclues. They had asked for proof that the phone was used so I attached pictures showing the broken seal on the box, dirty and clearly used box, scratches on the front of the phone, and a CALL IN THE CALL LOG DATED JANUARY 21, 2015.

The box, exactly as it came

I got a reply from Shopclues saying that they are contacting the seller and I will get a reply withing 24-48 hours. Obviously, I got no reply so I called them. Again, same reply that they will contact me within 24-48 business hours.

This time too, I got no reply so I became impatient and called them again, this time I told the person on the phone to forward it to his senior. I got a reply saying that please give us proof that the phone was used.

The trailing email conversation contained the attached pictures but somehow, employees at Shopclues are so dumb that they can't open pictures in past emails. So I attached the pics once again and they told me to add a bank account for the refund through NEFT. I added the bank account details in my Shopclues account hoping that they would refund the money.

I was wrong to have expectations from such a fraud company. It has been 4 weeks since my complaint and I haven't even got a single letter in reply. Their "customer care" people are uneducated morons and most don't even understand English and requested me to explain the matter in Hindi.

Today, I contacted them AGAIN and someone named Rajdeep talked to me. I told him to forward the call to his senior and his senior was extremely rude to me and told me to do "WHATEVER I CAN". This is not at all acceptable as they don't understand that the company is nothing without a customer.

I request you to share this incident with as many people so that they don't get scammed by FraudClues.

I am attaching my email conversation with Shopclues below so you can see what a shitty customer service they have.

Edit: If you Google "Shopclues fraud", you can see scores of customer complaints and even that the CEO of shopclues was arrested in USA.

Shopclues Support, Nov 5, 11:53 AM:

Dear Kaivalya,
Greetings from ShopClues.com.
This is with reference to your query regarding order no. 71670434.
We apologize for the inconvenience caused to you. We have forwarded your concern to merchant and once we will receive an update, we will inform you.
It usually takes 3-4 business days, however, due to non–availability of merchant it might take 1-2 days longer.For further assistance, kindly refer to www.shopclues.com/help.
Best Regards,
Customer Support TeamSanjay Kumar
ShopClues.com

---

Kaivalya Shah, Nov 3, 8:57 PM:

I have attached the pictures in my original complaint as well but it seems like you have a very bad system. You can see the http links of the 3 images that I have attached in the trailing mail even though for your ready reference, I am attaching 5 pictures and their description below.
Image 1: Call in call log dated January 21st, 2015.
Image 2: Dirty and used box
Image 3: Broken seal
Image 4: Broken seal and dirty/used box
Image 5: Scratches on the screen clearly due to wear and tear.
I would also like to add that I have been very patient with this issue and if this issue is not solved within 3 days, I will be forced to use social media and consumer forum.

Attachment(s)
1.jpg
2.jpg
3.jpg
4.jpg
5.jpg

---

ShopClues Support, Nov 3, 2:09 PM:

Dear Kaivalya,
Greetings from ShopClues.com.
This is with reference to your order no. 71670434 placed with us.
We apologize for the inconvenience caused to you. However, to proceed further, we would require snapshot of delivered product highlighting the scratches. To expedite the process, kindly provide us the images within 48 hrs.For further assistance, kindly refer to www.shopclues.com/help
Best Regards,
Customer Support Team
Suraj
ShopClues.com

---

Shopclues Support, Oct 31, 6:07 PM:

Dear Kaivalya,
Greetings from ShopClues.com.
This is with reference to your order no. 71670434 placed with us.
We apologize for the delay and inconvenience caused to you. We have forwarded your concern once again to the merchant and we will update you soon for the same.
We request you to kindly allow us some more time in order to expedite the process. Please be assured this time we will definitely revert you with the best possible resolution from our end. We always value our customers and always take care that their interest and faith remains protected.Best Regards,
Customer Support Team
KaushalShopClues.com

---

Kaivalya Shah, Oct 29, 6:22 PM:

I have updated the bank details for the NEFT transaction. Refund the money at the earliest.

---

Customer Support, Oct 29, 6:10 PM:

on behalf of customer
I want to my refund because i have received the used and old product so i want to refund as soon as possible . i cant go any service center .
Thanks
Rajesh kumar
Shopclues.com

---

Shopclues Support, Oct 29, 5:29 PM:

Dear Kaivalya,
Greetings from ShopClues.com.
This is with reference to your query regarding order no. 71670434.
Based on your concern, as informed earlier that the product ordered by you is under manufacturer warranty so we request you to visit the nearest service center and seek assistance. In case service center fails to resolve your query, kindly collect job sheet and send us the scan copy of the same.
Moreover, in case they deny to provide job sheet, you can share the service center details (address and contact number) with us so that we can proceed accordingly.For further assistance, kindly refer to www.shopclues.com/help
Best Regards,
Customer Support Team
Anchal
ShopClues.com
S::S

---

ShopClues Support, Oct 27, 3:49 PM:

Dear Kaivalya,
Greetings from ShopClues.com.
This is with reference to your query regarding order no. 71670434.
Based on your concern, we would like to inform you that as your product is under manufacturer warranty, you must visit service center of the respective brand only. However, we are unable to coordinate with the merchant on your behalf unless you provide us any written confirmation or job sheet regarding the issue you are facing in the product from the service center.
Moreover, in case they deny to provide job sheet, you can share the service center details (address and contact number) with us so that we can proceed accordingly.
Please know we would be able to assist you once you will share job sheet with us.For further assistance, kindly refer to www.shopclues.com/help
Best Regards,
Customer Support Team
Suraj
ShopClues.com

---

Kaivalya Shah, Oct 25, 4:21 PM:

I don't want replacement for the phone, kindly arrange to pick up the phone and refund the money at the earliest.

---

ShopClues Support, Oct 23, 5:26 PM:

Dear Customer,
Greetings from ShopClues.com.
This is with reference to your query regarding order.
We apologize for the inconvenience caused to you. We have forwarded your concern to merchant and once we will receive an update we will inform you.
It usually takes 3-4 business days, however, due to non–availability of merchant it might take 1-2 days longer.
For further assistance, kindly refer to www.shopclues.com/help
Best Regards,
Monica
ShopClues.com

---

Kaivalya Shah, Oct 22, 4:39 PM:

Comment: I have received the phone today. The seal of the box was broken and the phone had scratches on the screen which means it has been used. The phone application also shows a call dated January 21, 2015 of which I have attached proof. You are requested to replace the phone at the earliest else, you can refund the money.
Order Number: 71670434
Return Number: 2183202
Product: Motorola Nexus 6 XT1100 32GB - (6 Months Brand Warranty)
Reason: Packaging and product both are damaged
Action: Replacement
Click to view image: https://images.shopclues.com/images/refund_product_images/40dfd9a73a408b220151022-161403.jpg
Click to view image: https://images.shopclues.com/images/refund_product_images/2a3e34679c1402b20151022-161452.jpg
Click to view image: https://images.shopclues.com/images/refund_product_images/94e32d17e71a97420151022-161943.jpg

The HTC One A9: A 399$ iPhone 6S Running Marshmallow

At yesterday's HTC event named "be brilliant", HTC announced it's latest smartphone, the HTC One A9. If it looks familiar at first glance, it's probably because of the picture below.

Well, looks aside, the A9 features a Snapdragon 617(yes, it exists) which is an Octa-core chipset clocked at 1.5 GHz, 2 GB RAM & 16 GB memory / 3 GB RAM & 32 GB memory, and a 5" 1080p display which is kind of a disappointment in comparison to the other specs.

Motorola Officially Launches the Moto G (3rd Gen), Priced at 180$

The Moto G and it's successor, the Moto G(2nd Gen) were without a doubt the best phones in the price range of 100-200$ since their release. Let's see what the 3rd Gen of this affordable Android phone has in store for the customers.

From the raw performance perspective, the newest Moto G packs in a Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 clocked at 1.4 GHz and quad cores. The accompanying GPU is the Adreno 306 along with 1 GB or 2 GB of RAM, depending on the version of the phone (8 GB or 16 GB). Both the versions support microSD cards for expanding the memory so that isn't a big issue.

You're in for a surprise in the camera section as this affordable phone packs the same 13 MP f/2.0 sensor as the Nexus 6! It even features a Dual Tone LED flash. The front camera is a 5 MP shooter. The display spans 5" with a resolution of 720p which means the pixel density would be decent.

Connectivity wise, the phone is pretty well equipped with 4G LTE, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, and Bluetooth 4.1. The phone will come out of the box with Lollipop 5.1.1 and will most probably be updated to Android M.

The battery is huge for a sub-200$ phone at 2470 mAh and with Motorola's power efficient phones, this phone could potentially work for 2 days for low to medium usage. Some of the biggest changes include the addition of an IPX7 rated design, meaning that the phone is water resistant up to 1 meter for 30 minutes.

The phone is priced at 180$ for the 8 GB model and 220$ for the 16 GB model.

While the Moto G might not feature massively overhauled hardware from its predecessor, that’s really never been the point. Ever since the Moto X and Moto G lines debuted, Motorola has prided itself it putting the customer experience ahead of pure specs. With improved design, waterproofing, a great camera, a ton of customization options, and other improvements, that’s exactly what we have with the latest Moto G.

Thanks for reading this article! If you liked it, follow me or our official page on Google+ to be one of the first ones to know whenever we post more awesome content!

Hound Beta Access Code Giveaway!

SoundHound released Hound, a very intelligent personal voice assistant, as a public beta a little time ago. Hound has really great reviews from the tech community and has a potential of becoming far more than what it is right now.

I was invited in the limited beta by a friend of mine and now I have 5 invites to spare. Follow these simple steps to take part in the giveaway:

1. Follow me on Google+ using the widget on the right side or by visiting plus.google.com/+KaivalyaShah
2. +1 this blog or share it with your friends.
3. Leave your email address in the comments section below. (You will be invited to Hound on that email address)

I will pick 5 random people from the comments section and they will receive an email containing the activation code for Hound. Best of luck and enjoy!

Edit: The winners are Dickwyn, Puji, Sidharth, and Hasnian! Congratulations! For those of you who are seeing this post after the giveaway was closed, follow me or our official page on Google+ for more awesome giveaways and for you dose of latest tech news!

The Nvidia Shield: World's first 4K Android TV Console

Announced at MWC 2015, the Nvidia Shield is an Android TV console on steroids. If you aren't familiar with Android TV, please read this article.

This console is a beast packed into a small housing. Featuring Nvidia's Tegra K1 processor and a 256 core Maxwell-generation GPU. The new console version also supports 4K video output, has both 802.11ac Wi-Fi and an Ethernet jack. It even has an IR receiver that works with Logitech's Harmony remote controls. For expansion, it has two USB 3.0 ports, a Micro-USB port, and a microSD card slot that supports cards up to 128GB in size, to augment the built-in 16GB of storage.

To support the top-of-the-class CPU and GPU, the Shield boasts of 3 GB RAM. Theoretically, it has 35 times greater performance than the Apple TV. The console can handle 4K video or 1080p at 60 fps without even breaking a sweat.

The Shield connects to Nvidia's Grid game-streaming service, which delivers games on demand much like Netflix does for movies and TV. This gives the Shield access to the entire library of Android games, as well as traditional PC titles such as Batman: Arkham Origins and Metro: Last Light.

The Sheild remote

To control your console, the Shield comes with a Bluetooth remote control that features a built-in mic, giving you one-touch access to Google search using your voice. The groove in the center cleverly conceals the volume control. The console/set top box also comes with a wireless Xbox-like controller, which is rated to last up to 40 hours between charges.

That's all about the Nvidia Shield. +1 this article if you liked it and follow me or our official Google+ page to be one of the first ones to know whenever we post more awesome content! :D

Sony Officially Announces the Xperia Z4 Tablet

Sony's Xperia line of tablets is undoubtedly the best on the market in terms of hardware, software and experience. The Xperia Z4 tablet was announced at MWC after it was shown by mistake in the Xperia Lounge about a week ago.

The slate is powered by the Qualcomm's latest and greatest Snapdragon 810 chip, which packs an octa-core 64-bit processor with four Cortex-A57 cores clocked at 2.0GHz and four Cortex-A53 working at 1.5GHz. The GPU in charge of graphics is Adreno 430 and there is 3GB of RAM onboard.

The rest of the Xperia Z4 Tablet specs include 32GB expandable memory, a rear 8MP Sony ExmorRS camera and 5MP wide-angle front selfie snapper, stereo speakers and GSM, 3G and 4G LTE connectivity. The slate is powered by a 6,000 mAh battery and Sony says it will last 17 hours on video playback.

Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet is IP68-certified, which translates in to a dust-tight shell and waterproof design with endurance for up to 30 minutes into 1.5m deep fresh water.

The highlights of the Xperia Z4 Tablet include the elegant design with a metal frame, durable glass and amazingly thin 6.1mm profile. Just like with the Xperia M4 Aqua, the Xperia Z4 Tablet comes with a cap-less microUSB port for easier recharging. The tablet weighs about 395 g and will be available in black and white flavors.

Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet runs on Android 5.0 Lollipop OS with the latest tablet-optimized Xperia launcher. It will also offer access to Xperia Lounge Gold service, which provides exclusive content such as movies, TV series, music and apps. The slate supports Hi-Res audio playback and digital noise cancelling.

The LTE and Wi-Fi models of Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet are going to hit the shelves worldwide in June this year, but the pricing is yet to be announced.

Cyanogen Partners with Alcatel for Onetouch Hero 2+

Earlier today, Cyanogen announced it's re branding and partnership with Qualcomm, read more about it here.

After getting ditched by the Oneplus team for Oxygen OS, an OS developed by the Paranoid Android team, Cyanogen has today announced it's next OEM partner, Alcatel. The Alcatel Onetouch Hero 2+ will be available on the Alcatel OneTouch Amazon store starting Q2 of this year.

The Hero 2+ improves upon the OneTouch Hero by replacing the MT8392 for a MT6592, an octa core processor clocked at 2.0 GHz, although, both the chipsets are made by MediaTek. 

The screen size is a whooping 6" with a resolution of 1080p and it will be the first Cyanogen OS device to support a stylus. 

Full specs:

Display: 6-inch Full HD (1080 x 1920) TFT 16M color display + built in stylus

Processor: MT6592 2.0 GHz octa-core ARM Cortex-A7 processor

Camera: 13MP main camera + 5MP front camera for the perfect selfie

Video Capture: Full HD 1080p at 30 fps

Memory/Storage: 2GB RAM / 16GB of storage (Expandable to 32GB via MicroSD)

Operating System: Cyanogen OS 11 on Android KitKat 4.4.4 

Dimensions: 160.5mm x 81.6mm x 7.9mm

The launch of the HERO 2+ is the first device brought to North America as part of the strategic partnership between ALCATEL ONETOUCH and Cyanogen, with plans to bring more devices to market in 2015 and beyond.

Read more posts about CyanogenMod here!

Cyanogen Gets a New Logo and Lands a Partnership with Qualcomm

Cyanogen Inc., the famous company responsible for the custom ROM CyanogenMod has announced a rebranding. The company is continuously trying to be a generic, consumer company instead of a hacker community and as a result of this, more and more people are getting to know this awesome team of people!

By looking at this new logo, you can notice that Cyanogen is moving away from the "Android" branding and wants to make a name of its own. 

This is not the only interesting news but also, Cyanogen has announced a partnership with Qualcomm to provide the software for their Reference Design (QRD) phones, mainly, Snapdragon 200, 400, and 600. QRDs are basic devices designed by Qualcomm for OEMs to look at what the chipset's capabilities are.

You can read more Cyanogen related posts here!

The Budget Friendly Moto E Gets 4G and a Quad Core Processor!

Motorola has just announced the successor to it's budget phone, the Moto E. It looks like Motorola has been listening to it's customers and the new Moto E definitely includes some much required improvements.

The new Moto E has 8GB of internal memory instead of 4GB, 4G LTE connectivity (learn more about LTE in India), and a new 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor. Other improvements include a bigger screen (4.5" instead of 4.3"), although it still has the same resolution (960x540) but how much can you ask for? It also includes a bigger battery (2390 mAH vs 1980 mAH). 

There is also something in for the shutterbugs as the 2nd Gen Moto E has a 5MP primary camera and a VGA (0.3MP) front camera which wasn't present in the predecessor. This model will cost 149$ and there is also a 3G model in the works according to the Motorola website which should be cheaper than this one. 

The new Moto E comes with Android 5.0 Lollipop out of the box. Also, instead of a removable full back cover, only the perimeter of the phone is removable which gives the user access to the SIM card slot as well as a microSD memory expansion slot. 

Full specs:

• Operating System: Android 5.0 Lollipop
• Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 (4G) or Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 (3G)
• RAM: 1GB
• Storage: 8GB with support for upto 32GB microSD card
• Height: 129.9 mm (5.11 inches)
• Width: 66.8 mm (2.63 inches)
• Curve: 5.2 - 12.3 mm (0.20 - 0.48 inches)
• Weight: 145 gms
• Display: 4.5" qHD IPS
• Pixel Density: 245 ppi
• Battery: 2390 mAH
• Water resistant coating
• Bands: 
Moto E with 4G LTE - US GSM (XT1527):
GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)

UMTS/HSPA+ (850, 1700 (AWS), 1900 MHz)

4G LTE (2, 4, 5, 7, 12, 17)

Moto E - US GSM (XT1511):
GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
UMTS/HSPA+ (850, 1700 (AWS), 1900 MHz)

Moto E - Global GSM (XT1505):GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)s
UMTS/HSPA+ (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz)
• Primary Camera: 5MP, 720p video at 30 fps, f/2.2 Aperture, twist to open, Auto HDR
• Secondary Camera: 0.3MP(VGA)
• Bluetooth 4.0
• WiFi 802.11 b/g/n

Source (Motorola)

Learn more about camera specifications like ISO, Aperture, etc. in this article.

Did you know? Bluetooth 4.2 is out! Learn more about it in this article.

Raspberry Pi 2 Packs 6 Times the Computing Power at the Same Price

Microcomputing fans take note -- there's a new Raspberry Pi in town.

The all-new board brings a host of new hardware, including a Broadcom 900MHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 processor and 1GB of RAM. Those upgrades, the Raspberry Pi Foundation says, make the Pi 2 Model B a much more powerful computer -- not just a good computer for its $35 price.

The Raspberry Pi is an extremely simple computer that can be yours for very little money. It looks and feels very basic, but can be built into any number of geeky projects, and is designed to get youngsters interested in coding.

"It's been successful beyond our wildest dreams," said Raspberry Pi Foundation founder Eben Upton at the London launch of the Pi 2 Model B, noting that since launch, 4.5 million Pi boards have been sold to date.

"Over time it's become clear that there is interest among children in learning computing," Upton said.

The Foundation says it won't be discontinuing the other Raspberry Pi boards, with the A+ board -- introduced back in November -- still the cheapest way to get your mitts on a Raspberry Pi.

The Pi 2 Model B is the sequel to last year's B+, and keeps the same tempting $35 (roughly £23 or AU$45) price tag, going on sale today from Element 14 and RS Components. The Foundation says the new board is six times more powerful than its predecessor, and will make it strong enough to run Windows 10, as well as the more usual Linux operating systems.

Windows 10 version:

Raspberry Pi is on a collision course with Microsoft's upcoming Windows 10 operating system. "For the last six months," the Raspberry Pi Foundation writes on its blog, "we've been working closely with Microsoft to bring the forthcoming Windows 10 to Raspberry Pi 2. Microsoft will have much more to share over the coming months. The Raspberry Pi 2-compatible version of Windows 10 will be available free of charge to makers."

"It runs," Upton said at the board's launch. "I've seen it running."

"We are excited about our partnership with the Raspberry Pi Foundation and delivering a version of Windows 10 that supports Raspberry Pi 2," Microsoft writes on its website.

Links:

Raspberry Pi

Microsoft

Oppo R1C Announced for 400$

Oppo announced the R1C on January 14th,it is priced at 2,499 RMB ($403) and will go on sale on January 20. The Oppo R1C has a beautifully thin body that is just 6.85mm with saphire crystal back panel. It has a 5.0-inch 720p display, 64-bit Snapdragon 615 processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB internal memory with microSD card slot, 13 megapixel rear camera, 5 megapixel front facing camera, 2420mAh battery, and Oppo Color OS 2.0.1 based on Android 4.4 KitKat.

Samsung Announces Galaxy E7, E5, A5,and A3 in India

Samsung today launched the Galaxy E5 and E7 smartphones in India, making it the first country in the world to get the two smartphones. Along with them, the company also unveiled its metal-bodied Galaxy A3 and A5 mid-range smartphones in India.

While Samsung Galaxy A3 and A5 will be available for sale next week, the Galaxy E5 and Galaxy E7 smartphones will hit the market later this month.

Samsung in a statement said that Galaxy E series smartphones feature unibody design, and are aimed at offering "superior viewing and best selfie experience" to customers. Both smartphones feature 5MP selfie cameras and sport Super AMOLED screens. The two smartphones can capture wide-angle selfies and take the shot using palm gesture and voice commands.

Galaxy E5, priced at Rs 19,300, has a 5-inch display panel and runs on Android 4.4 (KitKat)-based TouchWiz software. The smartphone packs 1.5GB RAM, 8MP rear camera with LED flash and 2,400mAh battery.

The Galaxy E7 has a 5.5-inch screen, 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 2GB RAM and runs on the same TouchWiz software as its sibling. The model has a 13MP rear camera with LED flash and 2,950mAh battery. The smartphone has been priced at Rs 23,000.

Both phones have 1.2GHz quad-core processors, 16GB internal storage and microSD card support. The two models measure 7.3mm in thickness. Vodafone will offer 2GB of 3G data for two months to Galaxy E5 and E7 buyers.

Ken Kang, senior vice president, mobile & IT, Samsung India, said, "Demonstrating our commitment to the consumers here, we have selected India as the first country to launch GALAXY E7 and E5 smartphones globally. Continuing our legacy of setting new standards for customer-centric innovation, we are focused on redefining the concept of offering revolutionary devices and expand our leadership position within the smartphone market."



The metal-bodied Samsung Galaxy A3 and A5, which have already been launched in China, cost Rs 20,500 and Rs 25,000, respectively. At 6.7mm thickness, Galaxy A5 is the thinnest Samsung smartphone, while Galaxy A3 follows close behind at 6.9mm. The South Korean manufacturer says it is focussing on yound and style conscious consumers with the two models.

Galaxy A3 has a 4.5-inch screen, TouchWiz software, 1GB RAM, 8MP rear camera with LED flash and 1,900mAh battery. Its sibling Galaxy A5 has 5-inch screen, 13MP rear camera with LED flash, 2GB RAM and 2,300mAH battery.

Like the Galaxy E series smartphones, both Galaxy A series models run on 1.2GHz quad-core processor, have 16GB internal storage, microSD card support and 5MP selfie cameras. Airtel will provide special double data plans on Galaxy A3 and A5 for up to 6 months, Samsung India said in a statement.

Asim Warsi, vice president, marketing, mobile & IT at Samsung India, said, "Both Galaxy A and E smartphones have been designed to empower young consumers and provide accessibility to iconic design and flagship Galaxy features. We are confident that the launch of these new devices will further expand our presence in the mid-segment of mobile phones market in India."

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Sony's new Walkman is only for rich audiophiles

At CES, Sony announced the next player in it's Walkman lineup, the ZX2. And, it costs 1200$.

Sony already has a high-resolution player in its Walkman line but, not wanting to sit out the growing audiophile craze, the company revealed another model here at CES: the Walkman ZX2. Inside the player's aluminum alloy frame, there's an S-Master HX digital amp to keep things sounding clear, and DSEE HX tech that upscales those regular ol' tunes (like those being streamed) for better sound quality. In terms of playback, the ZX2 handles media up to 192kHz/24-bit and MP3, WMA, AAC, FLAC, AIFF, WAV and ALAC including DSD files. There's 128GB of internal memory that's sure to fill up, but a microSD slot provides extra space. It'll connect to WiFi for streaming and downloads, and the battery is said to last 60 hours on a charge.

Connectivity options on the Walkman NWZ-ZX2 include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC and Micro-USB. The ZX2 runs on Android 4.2.2 JellyBean and Sony justified using it due to it's long term stability and of course, you can download apps from the Google Play Store. Other features include ClearAudio+, Clear Bass, DSEE HX (Digital Sound Enhancement Engine), S-Master HX digital amplifier and VPT.

That's all guys, thank you for reading! If you liked this article, follow me or our official page on Google+ so that you will be one of the first ones to know whenever we post more awesome content like this! :D

LG G Flex 2 Unveiled at CES

The G Flex 2 is LG's second curved Android smartphone. Introduced at CES 2015 today, it blends the heritage of the original G Flex with the all-new Snapdragon 810 processor and some of the best aspects of LG’s G3 flagship to produce an excellent new phone.

Curved phones are still in the "rebel without a cause" phase of their development. They are different, but haven’t yet figured out a compelling reason to be different. That doesn’t change with the G Flex 2. LG’s Dr. Ramchan Woo, the company’s mobile architect responsible for the new G Flex, argues that all design tends to start with straight lines and rectangles, because they’re easy to make, before proceeding to the more natural and organic feel of flowing curved lines. Making curves is hard, whether you’re talking about cars, architecture, or home appliances, but doing it is worth it for LG because of the better aesthetics and ergonomics. "Why curved again?," asks Woo. "Our biggest and simplest answer is it’s more beautiful."

You don’t have to agree with Ramchan Woo’s thesis about the inevitability of curves to appreciate how much of an improvement the G Flex 2 is over the original G Flex. The number one complaint LG received about its first curved smartphone was that, at 6 inches in size, "that’s too big." People just couldn’t get to grips with such an awkward beast, and many of them were also unhappy to see it only had 720p resolution in an age where much smaller phones could comfortably accommodate 1080p and above. Now, with an improved generation of its plastic OLED technology, LG’s stepped up to the 1080p resolution and, crucially, stepped down in size class to 5.5 inches. 

The Korean company has also reduced the overall curve of the phone so that now it’s a gentle bend instead of the aggressive crescent shape of the original. This combination of more compact dimensions, better and smaller screen, and subtler curvature combines to make the G Flex 2 a much nicer phone to hold and to use than its predecessor.

Another improvement from the original G Flex is the second generation of LG’s self-healing plastic case. It now recovers from scratches and bruises in less than 10 seconds. The rear cover is super shiny and reflective in both the Flamenco Red and Platinum Silver options, but it’s an unusually nice sort of glossy surface. Yes, LG’s new phone is made out of glossy plastic, but I’m really alright with that. It doesn’t collect fingerprints easily and its ostentatious shine is rather in keeping with LG’s effort to present the G Flex 2 as a premium-class smartphone with a bit of added pizzazz.

 The G Flex 2 will be priced higher than the G3 and whatever successor to the G3 LG is planning for later this year, making it a niche higher-end device, much like the original. The big difference is that this phone is really rather good.

LG’s internal engineering team has made the G Flex 2 more shock-resistant and durable than the original. LG’s even gone so far as to take Gorilla Glass 3 from Corning and give it a special chemical treatment that the company says makes it 20 percent stronger and more durable. LG calls this Dura-Guard Glass and points out that it’s a particular improvement at the edges of the screen, which is where Gorilla Glass’ durability is apparently not as great as at the center.

The display itself is also very pleasing to the eye. I was never convinced that LG’s G3 needed a Quad HD resolution and the G Flex 2 reiterates the point: this new phone looks just as good, if not better, than its fellow 5.5-inch brandmate. 1080p resolution and the deep beautiful blacks of OLED make for vibrant, strong imagery whatever you’re looking at, and LG’s also added a slide-down motion on the lock screen that will show you the latest notifications without activating the full screen.

All of this would be meaningless without a solid software foundation and LG’s using the best around with Google’s Android 5 Lollipop. The interface retains LG’s cosmetic modifications from the original UI first introduced on the Android 4.4-powered G3, but that already cleaned up and simplified a lot of things in LG’s skin, essentially preempting the improvements of Lollipop.

The specs of the G Flex 2 are similar to those of the G3: it has the same screen size and the same 3,000mAh battery (though in this case it’s not removable), 2GB or 3GB of RAM, 16GB or 32GB of storage and the option to expand it via microSD. The camera is also the same 13-megapixel sensor as in the G3, though it comes with improved software and some further hardware optimizations. The laser-guided autofocus system and optical image stabilization are also both here, together with a new dual-LED flash that helps to provide more natural tones in photos that require it. NFC, Bluetooth 4.1, 802.11ac, and the latest tri-band carrier aggregation LTE complete the connectivity picture and a typically formidable spec sheet for LG. I remain impressed with the company’s restraint, though, in making this phone smaller and even admitting that the original 3,500mAh battery in the G Flex was "too big." Its absence is more than made up for with the lighter and more ergonomic device on show today.

Source

Nvidia Announces Tegra X1 with 256-Core Maxwell GPU

At a press conference in Las Vegas, Nvidia today announced an update to its highly successful Tegra K1 mobile processor. The X1 combines a 64-bit ARM_based processor with a graphics chip based on the company’s Maxwell architecture. The K1 used Nvidia’s older Kepler GPU technology. The X1 will feature a 256-core Maxwell GPU and an eight-core 64bit CPU. That, the company says, makes it the first teraflop mobile processor.

The original Tegra K1, Nvidia noted, was the first mobile processor that brought together a strong mobile CPU with a very powerful GPU. Bringing Kepler to the K1 took Nvidia two years.

What that means is that the Tegra X1 can run things like the Epic's Elemental demo on a chip that could fit in a phone or tablet. It looks totally mind-blowing for a mobile chip. Not perfect—some of the more extreme effects in the demo cause the framerate to stutter a bit, but it's insane that running it is possible to begin with.

That's great for gaming sure, but Nvidia has its eyes set on something bigger: Creating a super computer brain that controls your whole car. Nvidia's new Drive CX "mobile cockpit computer" is a device that's powered by a Tegra x1 that can push 16.6 megapixels, or 4 HD displays all at once. That is to say, it can power a whole bunch of badass displays in your car all at once. It could turn your car's dash into a sci-fi spaceship dashboard.

Something a little like this:

In practice, this allows for awesome graphics that can finally make the graphics in your GPS be more than just a stupid little arrow chugging along on a map, and instead be something a little more awesome. Something more like this:

But it goes further than just that. Nvidia wants to put the X1 to work to help be the brains of future driverless cars. Nvidia's also announced something called the Drive PX, an "auto-pilot car computer" that's powered by two X1s. The point of this chip? To know everything that's going on in and around your car, from what's displayed on its screens, to anything coming in from driver assistance cameras that are facing outwards. It's the brain that makes sense of what's coming in through the cars many eyes, that lets it really learn about and understand its surroundings using neural network technology that can teach itself what cars and vans and cyclists and pedestrians look like over time.

Sounds great right? Hell yeah. The catch is that it's still a long, long way off. The X1 is a chip with the horsepower to make this sort of stuff possible, sure, but cars still have a lot of catching up to do, whether it's by including a ton of high-res panels that will show you all those awesomeTron graphics, or by having a bevvy of outward facing cameras that provide all the information something like an "auto-pilot car computer" would want to process. And that's to say nothing of the challenges of getting this tech—and this tech specifically—into cars; everybody is working a self-driving car these days.

The tech works now though. Nvidia's already got prototypes of this tech that are functional, and by extension, cars with brains smart enough to spot cyclists and pedestrians and other squishy things it best not hit, or to realize that a bunch of brakelights up ahead means that it should probably get ready to start slowing down.

Will we see this technology in a new Tesla, perhaps? (Nvidia supplied Tesla with the processors that power the Model S's giant touchscreen.) Can't say for sure. But Audi did pop up on stage to show their support.

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Xiaomi Redmi 2, Redmi 1S Successor Announced

Xiaomi on Sunday finally launched the much-anticipated successor to the Redmi 1S, the Redmi 2. The new entry-level smartphone will go on sale in China starting January 9 and is priced at CNY 699 (~ 112 USD). The Redmi 2's availability details outside China remain undisclosed for now, but it can be expected to be made available in India and Indonesia shortly.

The dual-SIM dual-standby Xiaomi Redmi 2 sports a 4.7-inch IPS display with HD (720x1280 ppi) resolution and 312ppi, same as the predecessor Redmi 1S. The smartphone will be layered with company's own MIUI 6 skin over Android 4.4 KitKat.

The Xiaomi Redmi 2 runs on a 64-bit 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor (Cortex A53) coupled with 1GB of RAM and Adreno 306 GPU. As for the camera, the handset includes the same 8-megapixel rear camera along with a 2-megapxiel front-facing camera, which is a slight bump from 1.6-megapixel seen on the original Redmi 1S.

The Xiaomi Redmi 2 houses 8GB of inbuilt storage, which can be expanded via microSD card (up to 32GB). The budget smartphone also features regular connectivity options including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS besides 4G LTE (TDD/FDD) network support.

This phone uses Qualcomm's Snapdragon 410 which means, the processor is 64-bit compatible and also supports Category 4 LTE.

Available in five colour variants - Yellow, Pink, Green, White, and Black, the Xiaomi Redmi 2 is backed by a 2200mAh battery, again a bump from Redmi 1S' 2000mAh battery. The device weighs 133 grams and is 0.5mm thinner than its predecessor at 9.4mm.

Full specs:

• 4.7" screen size, IPS display, 1280x720 resolutiton, 312 PPI
• 1.2 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 64-bit processor
• Dual-SIM with 2 card-slots, standing by concurrently
• 1GB RAM, 8GB flash memory, expandable micro sd card slot of upto 32GB,
• Cortex A53 structure, 1.5 times faster than A7
• Adreno 306 GPU
• 4G LTE/3G, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS and 3.5mm headset audio jack,
• Dual-SIM 4G LTE (TDD/ FDD), connection speed up to 150 Mbps
• 2200 mAh Samsung Lithium polymer battery
• 8 mega pixel rear camera, 2 mega pixel facing camera
• 133 grams, 9.4 mm thick
• 5 colors for back cover
• MIUI 6

Source

Via

The Situation and Scope of LTE in India

People may argue that India doesn't even have 3G in all of the areas of the country but, Airtel and Reliance have already made their move to implement the 4th Generation Long Term Evolution also known as LTE.

Airtel is the first provider in India to give LTE services in Kolkata, Bengaluru, Pune, Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Phagwara, Hoshiarpur, Patiala, Nagpur, Nasik & Vasai-Virar-Nalasopara (Source). 

With Aircel bring the second in India with LTE services in Tamil Nadu, Jammu & Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar and Orissa. Reliance Jio is expected to launch it's services in March 2015 with trials starting in late December or early January 2015. According to the spectrum rules, if the stakeholders of the 4G frequency are unable to roll out LTE in at least 90% of their covered area, the Department of Telecom will have the right to withdraw those frequencies.

There are primarily 2 modes of LTE: Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD). FDD uses 2 different bands of frequency for uplink and downlink whereas TDD uses the same band but a time gap between uplink and downlink.

In India, LTE is implemented as TDD in Band 40. In other countries where LTE is being pushed aggressively, FDD and TDD are used simultaneously. FDD currently uses band between 1 & 22 and TDD uses bands between 33 & 41. 

While buying an LTE enabled phone to use in India, make sure that it supports Band 40 or 2300 MHz for 4G. You can check that by seeing the phones specifications. As an example, you can see below that the Motorola Droid Turbo doesn't support Band 40 (2300 MHz) whereas, the iPhone 6 does. Most Indian variants that are advertised as LTE enabled support Band 40 but just to be sure, check out before buying one.

That's all guys! Hope you learned something new in this article. If you liked this, follow me or our official page on Google+ to be one of the first ones to know whenever we post more awesome content! :D