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Alphabet today announced financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2018. The company has recorded a total revenue of $32.657 billion with a YoY increase of 26% and an operating income of $2.807 billion with 9% margin, this is including the fines.
The company has recorded a net income of $3.195 billion with Diluted EPS of $4.54. The Google properties revenues reported $23.262 billion, network Members' properties revenues $4.825 billion, Google advertising revenues $28,087 billion, other revenues $4.425 billion. Google segment revenues $32,512 billion and other Bets revenues were reported $145 million, Google operating income came around $8.959 billion.
The revenue also includes the EC fines in reconciling items for the three June 30, 2018. On the other hand, Traffic acquisition costs for Google Network Members was around $3.411 million, paid clicks on Google properties improved 15 %YoY and Cost-per-click on Google properties has witnessed a 10% growth.
Ruth Porat, CFO of Alphabet and Google. Q2 2018 financial:
We delivered another quarter of very strong performance, with revenues of $32.7 billion, up 26% versus the second quarter of 2017 and 23% on a constant currency basis. Our investments are driving great experiences for users, strong results for advertisers, and new business opportunities for Google and Alphabet.
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OPPO and Amazon India partnered to launch Realme 1 under the new Realme smartphone brand back in May. Today the company has announced that it has sold 4 lakh units of the smartphone in just 40 days of launch, with the 3+32GB variant being completely sold out. It also said that the smartphone has received an overwhelming response from customers.
The company also said that Realme 1 has consistently topped the Amazon Bestseller rankings in the past 2 months and has also been featured as the highest rated phone with a 4.4 rating on Amazon India. The phone has been launch in several color variants and SKUs - 6GB RAM+128GB ROM , 4GB RAM+64GB ROM, and 3GB RAM + 32GB ROM in 3 colors - Diamond Black, Moonlight Silver and Solar Red starting at Rs. 8,990. It is the cheapest smartphone powered by MediaTek Helio P60 12nm SoC.
The company has also promised Android P update in future. The latest OS update include:
Updated Android security patch
Added built - in theme: diamond blue, diamond red, snow white
Optimized three - way application camera effects
Optimized background memory management
Enhanced facial unlock feature – The phone won’t unlock when the user’s eyes are shut
...
OnePlus India today announced exclusive Back-to-School offers for students from 23 July 2018 to 30 July 2018. This lets college students avail Rs. 1500 discount on HDFC debit and credit cards on the purchase of the OnePlus 6 as well as 20% off on OnePlus 6 cases and covers on oneplus.in and exclusive offline channels.
Offers include:
INR 1500 discount on HDFC credit and debit cards on purchase of the OnePlus 6 across all channels
No cost EMI on Amazon.in
20% off for student on OnePlus 6 cases and covers in all OnePlus exclusive online and offline stores
Special offers on Kindle for students
The ‘Back-to-School’ offers are available on Amazon.in, oneplus.in and all exclusive offline stores.
Commenting on the new offer, Vikas Agarwal, General Manager, OnePlus India, said:
Our core users are between the ages of 18-35 and students form almost 30% of that community. Students are the most demanding consumers who believe in making educated purchases backed by extensive research and therefore, investing in a premium smartphone becomes that much more crucial.
With these offers, we hope to make it easier for students to purchase our latest premium flagship and other accessories. Our products are designed for smooth performance that is ideal for multitasking, ...
[Update: Honor has confirmed that the smartphone will be launched exclusively on Flipkart]
P Sanjeev, Vice-President Sales, Huawei India-Consumer Business Group, said:
We have had a long standing and trusted partnership with Flipkart for launching some of our best selling smartphones in the Indian market. We are delighted to announce that Flipkart will be our exclusive online sale partner for Honor 9N, our new smartphone. Accessibility to consumer is one of the most important aspect that we consider while launching a new product and this strategic partnership with Flipkart assures us of that. Flipkart shares our vision to deliver the best value to consumers and strongly believe that this partnership will further help us strengthen our position in the Indian smartphone market.
Ayyappan Rajagopal, Senior Director, Mobiles at Flipkart, said:
We are thrilled to partner yet again with Honor to exclusively launch their latest smartphone, Honor 9N in India. This phone will definitely be a game changer in terms of the extraordinary design that it offers in the price segment. We at Flipkart believe that there is a big market in India that appreciates design and beauty.This phone will be a clincher. This unique value proposition ties well with Flipkart’s objective of ensuring the ...
Apple 2018 MacBook Pro models said to have been equipped with "membrane" that prevent debris from entering the butterfly mechanism. In an internal document distributed to Apple Authorized Service Providers, Apple seems to have confirmed the same.
Though the US version of this Service Readiness Guide does not mention anything of this sorts, it does link to a separate internal document titled "Butterfly Mechanism Keycap Replacement MacBook Pro (2018)". This reads: "Caution The keyboard has a membrane under the keycaps to prevent debris from entering the butterfly mechanism. Be careful not to tear the membrane. A torn membrane will result in a top case replacement."
iFixit is the first to discover the thin, silicone barrier underneath the keycaps in a teardown of the new 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar. Apple filed a patent for a contaminant-resistant MacBook keyboard back in 2016. As for Apple, it just confirmed that 2018 MacBook Pro models feature an "improved third-generation keyboard for quieter typing."
After complaints from users, a few class action lawsuits, Apple has initiated a worldwide service program last month, offering free repairs of 2015-and-later MacBook and 2016 and 2017 MacBook Pro keyboards, that came with low-profile butterfly switch mechanisms. However, the company confirmed that third-generation keyboards will not be offered as replacements under its service program for ...
According to Canalys, Samsung, and Xiaomi each shipped a total of 9.9 million smartphones in the last quarter in India. Together, both the companies now account for a 60% market share which is up from 43% the same time last year.
As for Xiaomi, the company has almost doubled its shipments putting it again in the first place. Samsung annual growth rate was nearly 50% and it is the company's best since Q4 2015. Vivo took third place while OPPO came fourth, with shipments of 3.6 million and 3.1 million respectively. The overall shipments grew by 22% with 33 million units.
Samsung's J2 Pro was its top-selling model in Q2 2018, with 2.3 million units. In, Xiaomi shipped 3.3 million of its Redmi 5A. Despite the growth of top brands, smaller vendors are not giving up and they continue to make tweaks to their business strategies with a view to long-term sustainability and profitability. Asus shipments almost tripled since the previous quarter, thanks to its partnership with Flipkart. OPPO which saw a 2.2 million in Q4 2017, has launched an online-only brand, Realme, challenging Xiaomi.
Canalys Analyst TuanAnh Nguye said:
Samsung has launched devices pitted directly against Xiaomi and its portfolio and is focusing on its cameras and imaging ...
Huawei's Honor brand has finally sent out invites for the announcement of Honor Note 10, a new Note series smartphone and the successor of Honor Note 8 which was introduced back in 2016. The company is skipping the Honor Note 9 which was supposed to be introduced last year.
The company says that it will have a large FulView display with minimal bezels, huge battery and will offer smooth performance that will let the phone stay cool.
Earlier rumors said that the phone will pack a 6.9-inch QHD+ screen with minimal bezels, powered by Kirin 970 SoC with GPU Turbo, the company’s latest technology that increases graphics processing efficiency, 6GB RAM, 128GB storage and a huge 6000mAh battery, which could be the biggest in the Honor series. However some rumors say that it will pack the latest Kirin 710 SoC and compete with the Xiaomi Mi Max 3 that was introduced this week.
We should know more details about the Honor 10 in the coming days. The phone should also
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Sony today has launched the MP-CD1 ultra-portable Mobile Projector in India. This was previously announced at the CES 2018 earlier this year. The company says that it can fit in your palm and can project up to 120 inches in size from a short distance of 3.5m and weighs just 281 grams and measures 83.0 mm x 16.0 mm x 150.0 mm.
The Sony MP-CD1 ultra-portable Mobile Projector features Texas Instruments’ DLP IntelliBright technology that employs advanced image processing algorithms to boost brightness without compromising on battery consumption. Thanks to its unique design, it helps in minimizing the heat while still maintaining high brightness. It can project up to up to 120 inches in size at a resolution of 854 x 480.
The Sony MP-CD1 projector comes with 105 ANSI lumens and 5,000mAh built-in battery offering two-hours of projection time. The projector’s auto keystone correction provides full-screen display without distortion even when projected from an angle or onto an uneven surface. It connects to an HDMI connection, and the company is claiming five-second bootup time. It connects via a standard USB-C port and rated at 5V 3A.
The Sony MP-CD1 projector is priced at Rs 29,990, and it will be available in India from August 3.
Sony has announced PlayStation4 Pro Marvel’s Spider-Man Limited Edition. This Limited Edition includes a specially designed PlayStation 4 Pro (PS4 Pro) with 1TB HDD, Wireless Controller (DUALSHOCK4) and the Blu-ray Disc version of the PS4 title Marvel’s Spider-Man. It comes in red color featuring the iconic Spider-Man logo, a matching DUALSHOCK 4 wireless controller.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvxTpUCkO5s
The bundled Marvel’s Spider-Man game starring Marvel's Spider-Man features the acrobatic abilities, improvisation and web-slinging that the wall-crawler is famous for, while also introducing elements never-before-seen in a Spider-Man game. "From traversing with parkour and unique environmental interactions, to new combat and blockbuster action, it's Spider-Man unlike any you’ve played before," said Sony.
The bundle includes three chapters with our post-launch DLC series – Marvel’s Spider-Man: The City That Never Sleeps.
The Sony PlayStation 4 Pro Marvel’s Spider-Man Limited Edition is priced at $399 (₹ 27,510 approx.), is available for pre-order and will go on sale in the U.S. on September 7th. In Thailand it will be available at an MSRP of THB 17,690 (US$ 528 / ₹ 36,455 approx.).
Honor hasn't really hidden away the fact that there's a new device on the horizon. To be called the Honor 9N, we got a chance to take a sneak peak at the phone. Here's a quick gallery of the smartphone ahead of the launch on the 24th.
You'll observe that the Honor 9N packs a notch. This is fast becoming a standard feature even in mid-range phones. We're told that there is a software option to disable the notch so if you're not a fan, Honor has a solution for you. Bezels all around are pretty small for a mid-range device. At the top within the notch is a single front facing camera and earpiece.
In addition to the standard black and blue colours, Honor will also introduce two really interesting new shades with the 9N. A play on teal and lavender, the two colours looks really nice and distinctive.
A fingerprint sensor lies in the centre with the dual camera module placed at the top left. The teal finish almost looks painted on with a layer of gloss on top. There's no doubt that this phone will be turning heads whenever you take it out of your pocket.
[gallery columns="2" size="medium" ids="258841,258840"]
On the ...
When the Samsung's Galaxy Tab S4 surfaced in renders, one striking detail that caught our attention is the lack of a fingerprint sensor and the only possible explanation for this is that Samsung could employ an iris scanner instead. Obviously, Samsung wouldn't launch its new flagship tablet without any sort of security features.
Cut to the chase, thanks to the instructional video, it is more or less confirmed that the Galaxy Tab S4 would feature an iris scanner. The new demonstration video comes from the official Galaxy Tab S4 firmware. Unsurprisingly, it is the same animation that plays when you’re setting up an 'Intelligent Scan' on the Galaxy S9 or S9+.
If you are unaware, the Intelligent Scan combines the iris scanner and facial recognition when unlocking the device. Should one of them fail, other is used as a backup. According to the Wi-Fi Certification, Galaxy Tab S4 is expected to be powered Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage. We are hearing rumors that the Galaxy Tab S4 will be introduced at the Unpacked on August 9th, 2018.
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After rolling out the final OxygenOS beta update for the OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T smartphones earlier this month, OnePlus today rolled out stable OxygenOS 5.0.4 update for these smartphones. This brings the latest Android security patch, front camera image quality improvements, as well as third-part app fixes.
System
Updated Android security patch to 2018.7
Camera
Improved image quality for the front camera
Fixed manual ISO setting issue of 3rd party camera apps
Third-Party Apps
Fixed parallel WhatsApp crash issue
Fixed front camera zoom-in issues for Snapchat
The OnePlus 3 and 3T OxygenOS 5.0.4 update is 95MB in size, and is rolling out gradually. Even though the about page shows it as June, it actually has July security update, says OnePlus. If you are still using beta OS on the 3 or 3T, you have to flash the stable ROM manually by downloading it from downloads.oneplus.net. The company already said that it will provide Android version updates for the 3 and 3T till November 2018 and Android security updates till November 2019.
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OnePlus always improves its products based on feedback from its users. To take it to the next step, it recently held its first ‘Open Ears’ forum in India to collect in-depth feedback about the software and hardware of OnePlus products. Today, the company has announced that it has received a lot of suggestions from the community during the sessions at the community event.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1V37txpbQtI
It has decided to work on the following 6 commitment points around the OnePlus products:
FileDash will be improved to be made compatible with other OnePlus applications. It will also be made easier to discover.
OnePlus Switch with support enhanced data backup and desktop backup
Selfie Portrait Mode on the OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 5T
Correction on the "Oil Painting Effect" to continue
Shelf will support Dark Theme
Support to include additional accent colours for the theme
Hope we can expect more OxygenOS updates in coming weeks and months to add these features that the company has promised.
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Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Microsoft today announced that they are joining hands for an initiative called the Data Transfer Project which is designed as a new way to move data between platforms. This open source initiative will enable consumers to transfer their data directly from one service to another, without needing to download and re-upload it.
Download Data feature is already available to users and they can transfer their information directly to their Dropbox, Box, MS OneDrive, and Google Drive accounts starting today. Thanks to this project, the companies involved in this project are developing tools that can convert any service's proprietary APIs to and from a small set of standardized data formats that can be used by anyone. This makes it possible to transfer data between any two providers using existing industry-standard infrastructure and authorization mechanisms, such as OAuth.
The existing code for the project is available as open-source on GitHub, along with a white paper describing its scope. Google says that data privacy and protection is important, so, services must first agree to allow data transfer between them, and then they will require that individuals authenticate each account independently. All the credentials and user data will be encrypted both in transit and at rest.
Google ...
Samsung Galaxy Note 9 just little over a couple of weeks from the official announcement. Thanks to multiple leaks, renders, certifications, the device is not new to anyone who is following closely. Filling the void of not having a look at the phone in real, the Galaxy Note 9 has surfaced in live images revealing the flagship in its full glory.
The image gives us the best look at the rear camera set up on the back including the fingerprint sensor which is presented below the rear camera module. Much like the Galaxy Note 8, the Note 9 also offers a rectangle block design. Most of the specifications such as the chipset (Exynos 9810 or Snapdragon 845 depending on the market) inside and the camera sensors are expected to be the same as the Galaxy S9+. Finally, the flagship will pack a 4000mAh battery.
We finally could see a 512GB storage variant, but it is unclear whether the 512GB variant will be available as widely as the 256GB Galaxy S9. Samsung is also expected to introduce the Bixby 2.0 at the Note 9 launch. It is also known that the Galaxy Note 9 will feature a revamped S-pen which might be able to ...
Google Chrome might soon be able to let websites send you notifications, just like how it is currently, but it will come with a newly added Quick Reply support. Meaning, notifications from websites like Facebook lets you quickly get back with a reply just like you would to a normal message from another application.
Just to be clear, the feature is currently in testing and isn't available even on Google Chrome Canary yet. It would allow you to quickly reply to a notification from your status bar, given that website have support for it. Such a feature should be very useful in scenarios like talking to a customer support chat or messaging friends through a website.
Once the testing is done, the feature should make its way to the Canary channel straight after. Currently, there are no details that explain how the feature works or how to enable it, so it might be a while before it is made available to everyone.
Source | Via
Samsung is expected to introduce the Gear S4 aka Galaxy Watch at the Unpacked event next month and now the Watch in 42mm in Rose Gold color has surfaced on the Samsung website. Recently, the Watch has been certified by the FCC with the model number SM-R815U.
This FCC certification confirms that the watch will pack 51.2 x 43.4 dimensions and 30.2mm or 1.19-inch display size diagonally compared to 1.3-inch display on the Gear S3 series. However, the list now seems to be down at this moment. The listed model comes with the model number SM-R810NZDAXAR. Though it doesn't quite match up with the earlier FCC listing, the "R800" part matches with earlier reports.
However, digging a little deep confirms that the model number matches up perfectly with the variant spotted on FCC. The bigger version will be SM-R805. However, the listing doesn't reveal any other details but with the launch inching closer, we should know more details as we move forward.
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Google is out with Android distribution numbers for the month of July and Oreo adoption rate has climbed up to 12.1% which includes both Android 8.0 and 8.1. The Oreo adaption back in April was around 4.6%. With Android P right around the corner, the Oreo adaptions seem to be growing slower than expected.
The Nougat adaption, on the other hand, seems stagnant with 30.8% same as how it was in April. The Android 6.0 Marshmallow is now at 23.5% which has declined from 26% in April. The Lollipop operating system adoption now stands at 20.4% down from 22.9%. KitKat OS now stands at 9.1% which is a steep downfall from 10.5%.
The listing also shows adoption Jellybean at 3.6% down from 4.5%. Gingerbread and Ice cream sandwich are at 0.2% and 0.3% respectively. The data was collected before 7-days ending on July 23, 2018, said Google. With the company slowly ending support for older OS, we should see a slight growth in the latest and upcoming Android P adaption.
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Looks like Samsung has bigger plans for IFA 2018 where the company will introduce the Galaxy Note 9, new Wireless charging pad, Galaxy Watch. Now it looks like the list might be getting bigger as the company has trademarked and registered AI Smart Speaker named 'MAGBEE'.
Though we don't have any technical specifications on the new AI Smart Speaker, we are inclined to believe that it will support Bixby 2.0 voice assistant and Harman; which is Samsung's sub-brand will have some involvement. Moving along, the patent reveals that the speaker will have a dial and might support for multi-room audio and multiple speakers firing simultaneously.
Samsung could launch the new AI Smart Speaker MAGBEE alongside the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 on August 9th and might make its way to India eventually. Hopefully, we might hear more details before the launch, stay tuned.
Source | Via
Xiaomi just announced Mi A2, the company's latest Android One smartphones at an event in Spain, as it had promised. It is the global version of the Mi 6X which was introduced in April, has a 5.99-inch FHD+ 18:9 display, is powered by Snapdragon 660, has a 12-megapixel rear camera with f/1.75 aperture, Sony IMX486 sensor along with a 20-megapixel secondary rear camera with Sony IMX376 sensor to capture depth information for portrait shots with AI, has intelligent scene detection and has auto sensor section . It also has the same 20-megapixel Sony IMX376 sensor for the front camera with soft LED flash and AI beautification.
The 20MP sensor on both front and back uses pixel binning technology, combining the information from four pixels to create one large 2.0µm pixel. It has a unibody metal design, fingerprint sensor on the back, has USB Type-C audio, packs a 3010mAh battery.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kus2ynulRnQ
Xiaomi Mi A2 specifications
5.99-inch (2160×1080 pixels) Full HD+ 2.5D curved glass display with 1500:1 Contrast ratio
Octa Core Snapdragon 660 14nm Mobile Platform (Quad 2.2GHz Kryo 260 + Quad 1.8GHz Kryo 260 CPUs) with Adreno 512 GPU
4GB LPDDR4x RAM with 32GB / 64GB (eMMC 5.1) storage, 6GB LPDDR4x RAM with 128GB (eMMC 5.1) storage
Android 8.1 ...
