All About Tech And Other

HIGHLIGHTS Lenovo has launched only one variant of the Yoga 920 in India The Yoga 920 Vibes Edition features a 4K touchscreen and stylus It has an 8th gen Core i7 CPU, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB SSD Luxury options exist in every product category, from clothes to cars. Sometimes you pay more for a custom design, exotic materials or painstaking craftsmanship, and sometimes price is inflated just for a brand name. In the PC world, there are limited components to work with, but manufacturers often try to go all-out with features and construction innovations. Lenovo debuted an intricate and expensive new kind of hinge with the Yoga 3 Pro a few years ago, inspired by metal watchstraps. No other company has anything like it, and it's still found only on Lenovo's most expensive models. The hinge isn't the only premium touch on the new Yoga 920. It joins a select group of non-gaming laptops that cost around Rs. 1,50,000, and it boasts of hig...

HIGHLIGHTS 5G smartphones are expected from several OEMs in 2019 Trials with network operators will begin later this year Speed demonstrations will be given at this year's MWC More than a dozen global smartphone and PC OEMs have tied up with Qualcomm to incorporate the Snapdragon X50 5G NR modem on to their mobile devices. Qualcomm has said the first smartphones featuring its X50 5G NR modem will hit the market in 2019, with Chinese brand Vivo promising such a handset next year. Major mobile phone OEMs joining hands with Qualcomm to incorporate the 5G modem in their future smartphones include the likes of Xiaomi, Nokia brand licensee HMD Global, Sony, LG, HTC, Oppo, and ZTE. Other OEMs that have partnered with Qualcomm are Fujitsu, Inseego/ Novatel Wireless, NetComm Wireless, Netgear, Sharp, Sierra Wireless, Telit, Wingtech, and WNC. Devices by these OEMs will be buil...

HIGHLIGHTS Apple HomePod is now available in the US, UK, and Australia HomePod comes with a price tag of $349 It is on sale through Apple's online store and various offline retailers The much anticipated Apple HomePod is finally here. The new smart speaker, which is designed by the Cupertino giant to offer a premium sound experience with Siri integration, comes at a price of $349 (approximately Rs. 22,500), and is available for purchase in the US, UK, and Australia. Customers can place an order for the HomePod directly from Apple's online store, or purchase it from any nearby Apple Store. Select Apple Authorised Resellers, including Best Buy in the US; Argos, Dixons Carphone (Currys PC World), John Lewis, Shop Direct (Very and Littlewoods), EE and Apple Premium Resellers in the UK; and The Good Guys, Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi, Myer and Telstra in Australia, have also started selling the HomePod locally. Pre-orders for the HomePod started on January...

HIGHLIGHTS The renders are courtesy of the rumoured DeX Dock successor The images also show a Bixby button on the Galaxy S9 The DeX Pad is already listed on a retailer's website Samsung's upcoming flagship smartphones, the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+, are expected to retain two key features from the previous generation - the 3.5mm headphone jack and possibly the Bixby button. This development comes after a new set of press renders were leaked, which were actually meant to display the new DeX Pad that might be launched for the Galaxy S9 series. The Galaxy S9 duo is widely expected to be unveiled on February 25, just ahead of Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018 in Barcelona. Reputed tipster Evan Blass is, once again, first to the scene. In a tweet on Friday, Blass showed off the rumoured DeX Pad for the upcoming Galaxy flagship duo. One of the renders, however, marks the first instance wherein a headphone jack is seen on the Galaxy S9 - at l...

HIGHLIGHTS Moto Z2 Force is launching in India on February 15 Motorola has sent out invites to reveal the new launch The Moto TurboPower Pack Mod will accompany the new phone Moto Z2 Force is set to launch in India on February 15. Lenovo-owned Motorola on Friday sent out invites for the launch event of the Moto Z2 Force model. The formal invitation confirms that the company is launching the new smartphone, bundled with Moto TurboPower Pack Mod that debuted in the country in last December carrying a price tag of Rs. 5,999. The Moto Z2 Force was unveiled in July last year and went on sale in the US through various carriers in August. It comes with a starting price of $799 (approximately Rs. 51,460). Motorola hasn't announced any details about the price and availability of the Moto Z2 Force in India. However, the invite that has been rolled out to the media reveals that the company is hosting the launch event l...

HIGHLIGHTS Bandai Namco Singapore is working on Metroid Prime 4 The studio has talent that worked on Star Wars 1313 Previous Metroid Prime games were made Retro Studios Metroid Prime 4 for the Nintendo Switch is being developed by Dark Souls and Dragon Ball Fighterz publisher, Bandai Namco. Rumours have been swirling around all week following the discovery of several Linkedin profiles alluding to a secret project the Singapore staff of Bandai Namco was working on. This was confirmed by Eurogamer. In the past, the site’s had a solid track record of what to expect from game companies. Bandai Namco Singapore staffers include those who have worked on the ambitious Star Wars 1313 that was cancelled amidst Disney buying out LucasArts. Past games in the Metroid Prime series were developed by the US-based Retro Studios under supervision from Nintendo. For Metroid Prime 4 Nintendo has confirmed in the past that Retro will not be ...

Nest co-founder Matt Rogers has announced that he is exiting the smart home company, a day after Google announced that the US-based manufacturer of home automation equipment was being reunited with the tech giant's hardware team. Rogers said that he decided to leave the company in order to spend more time at Incite.org -- a Venture Capital (VC) firm and product development lab that he also had a hand in co-founding. "After almost nine incredible, intense years working to build Nest, I've decided to begin my transition to dedicate more of my time to Incite.org, as well as to start thinking about the next adventure," Matt Rogers tweeted from his handle @nestmatt late on Thursday. Nest was co-founded by Chief Product Officer Rogers in 2011 with former CEO Tony Fadell. Google had bought the US-based start-up of home automation equipment in 2014 for $3.2 billion (roughly Rs. 20,600 crores). Since Nest joined Google four years ago, the team has experien...