New Year 2019: Gadgets 360 Staff's Tech Shopping Cart for the New Year

New year 2019 is here and so is a brand new wish list. Here's tech we want to buy this year. Happy New Year 2019 everyone!

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China Restarts Video Game Approvals After Months-Long Freeze, Tencent Missing From List

China on Saturday approved the release of 80 online video games after a freeze on such approvals for most of the year, but the titles did not include games from industry leader Tencent Holdings.

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WhatsApp kills support for Nokia S40 devices today

Key Highlights: WhatsApp will cease to work on S40 devices This includes Asha devices that were launched around 2011   If you're using a Nokia S40 device, we've got bad news for you. WhatsApp will stop working on your device by the end of the day. WhatsApp announced over a couple of years ago on its blog that it would kill support for a list of operating systems by the end of 2018 and S40 is part of it. This includes Nokia Asha devices introduced in the market over five years ago, like Asha 201, Asha 205, Asha, 206, Asha 208, Asha 210, Asha 230, Asha 301, Asha 500, Asha 501, Asha 502, Asha 503, and Asha 505. In a June update to the original blog, WhatsApp wrote, "You won't be able to use WhatsApp on the following platforms for: Nokia S40 after December 31, 2018, Android versions 2.3.7 and older after February 1, 2020, iPhone iOS 7 and older after February 1, 2020". If you own and use a Nokia S40 device, you will have to switch to a newer device to continue using WhatsApp. WhatsApp is currently supported on Android devices running Gingerbread (v2.3.3) or above and on iOS devices running version 8 or later. Series 40 (or S40) is a software platform developed by Nokia back in the late 90s. It was used in several Asha models that were sold in India around 2011. With WhatsApp introducing a new feature every other month these days, S40 could not have caught up. When WhatsApp was launched for S40 phones, it was solely a messaging application. Today, it supports voice and video calling too, along with more recently introduced features like stickers. On a modern Android device like say, the Nokia 3.1 (which costs below Rs 10,000), one can enjoy the latest features of WhatsApp without having to worry about deadlines for app support. WhatsApp only last week introduced picture-in-picture (PiP) mode for Android devices. What this means is that users can watch forwarded WhatsApp videos in a smaller separate window while continuing to text in the chat window.   Related Read: Picture in Picture now available for WhatsApp Web

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Sony to ramp up 3D sensor production amid high demand from phone makers: Report

Highlights: Sony to boost camera 3D sensors’ production The sensors are said to power the front as well as the rear 3D cameras They will go into mass production in the summer of 2019   Japanese multinational company Sony will boost the production of its next-generation of 3D sensors amid high demand of the product from phone makers, including Apple, a Bloomberg report has said. These sensors are said to power the front as well as the rear 3D cameras of models from customers in 2019. Sony will commence the mass production in late summer to meet demand, Satoshi Yoshihara, Head of Sony’s sensor division, was quoted as saying. The executive, however, declined to provide sales or production targets, but said the 3D business is already operating profitably and will make an impact on earnings from the fiscal year starting in April. Bloomberg says that Sony’s technology “provides much needed optimism to the global smartphone industry, which is suffering a slowdown as consumers find fewer reasons to upgrade devices.” The company has reportedly started providing software toolkits to third-party developers to let them experiment with the chips and create supported apps. “Cameras revolutionized phones, and based on what I’ve seen, I have the same expectation for 3D. The pace will vary by field, but we’re definitely going to see adoption of 3D. I’m certain of it,” Yoshihara was quoted as saying. According to the executive, Sony’s technology differs from the ‘structured light’ approach of existing chips, which have limitations in terms of accuracy and distance. Sony uses ‘time of flight’ method that sends out invisible laser pulses and measures how long they take to bounce back, which, he claimed, creates more detailed 3D models and works at distances of five meters. Bloomberg says that Sony controls about half of the camera chip market and supplies chips to Apple, Alphabet, Samsung, and Huawei, among others, although Yoshihara declined to identify them by name, citing confidentiality agreements.   Related read: 38MP Sony IMX607 sensor   Image Courtesy: Bloomberg

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Popular Android apps are sharing sensitive data with Facebook: Report

Key Highlights: "At least" 20 out of 34 popular Android apps found sharing sensitive data with Facebook without user consent. The apps are reportedly using an older version of Facebook Developer Kit Some app developers weren't even aware the apps have been sharing user data   It was found earlier that health and dating apps routinely violated user privacy by sharing data with Facebook. According to a study by Privacy International, “at least”  20 out of 34 popular Android apps are sending sensitive data to Facebook without explicit user permission. The apps include Kayak, Skyscanner, MyFitnessPal and TripAdvisor. The report states that the data includes the analytics data that is sent during the app launch, as well as the unique Android ID. Later, the apps were found to send more sensitive data. Kayak, the popular flight-booking app, was found to be sending destination and flight search data, travel dates and whether or not someone is traveling with kids. It can be argued that the data shared cannot directly be used to identify a specific user. The data can, theoretically, be used to recognise someone through indirect means. One can easily see who has the app installed or whether they are traveling with the same person. There is also a concern that the apps may be violating European Union’s stringent privacy-focused GDPR regulations by collecting data without taking explicit consent from the users. In fact, Facebook’s developer kit didn’t have the option to ask for permission until the GDPR laws took effect. Once the rules were put into effect, Facebook did offer a way to let apps ask for user permission, but it’s not clear how many developers went ahead and implemented it. There are many apps that are using older versions of the developer kit, as claimed by the study. The report claims that Skyscanner was “not aware” it was sending data without user permission. Facebook is reportedly working a “clear history” option and has stressed that developers have the choice to turn off automatic data collection. Nevertheless, it is yet another instance of Facebook failing to protect the interests of its users. In this case, app developers are equally at fault by not keeping up to date with changing regulations and failing to adapt newly rolled out rules about user privacy.   Related Links: Facebook stops third-party apps from stealing user data Report claims Facebook allowed device-makers to access users' data, company denies wrongdoing Here's how Facebook uses information from WhatsApp to show you advertisements

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China approves release of 80 new games but leaves out PUBG Mobile developer Tencent: Report

Key highlights: China has approved the release of 80 new games However, games from PUBG Mobile developer, Tencent have not been included China reportedly banned nine games last year   After imposing a ban on online video games, Reuters reports that China has now approved the release of 80 games. The report notes that the list of approved titles were listed on the website of the State Administration of Press Publication, Radio, Film and Television. One notable omission was Tencent Holdings, the publisher behind popular games like PUBG Mobile.  It was reported that 20 games were assessed by China’s Online Gaming Ethics Review Committee, and 9 out of the 20 were banned. This included PUBG, as well as Fortnite. According to the report, PUBG was banned due to “blood and gore,” whereas Fortnite was banned for “blood and gore, vulgar content.” The remaining 11 games on the list required corrective actions. For example, Blizzard’s Overwatch reportedly required corrective action and the cause given was that the “game visuals promote incorrect values, inharmonious chatroom.” Diablo on the other hand has “inharmonious chat, game missions include fraud” and hence needs corrective action. PUBG Mobile has become quite the moneymaker for Tencent, with the game seeing a revenue boost of 166 percent during Black Friday week, surpassing Fortnite on iOS. Tencent recently noted that the month of November garnered $32.5 million in revenue. This was the game’s highest total revenue for a single month. This also marked a 44 percent increase from the previous month, during which it raked in $25.7 million. This was the previous best for the mobile game.    Recommended read: PUBG Mobile Beginner’s guide PUBG Mobile Advanced tactics

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Nubia Red Magic Mars RNG Edition with up to 10GB RAM, 256GB storage launched in China

Highlights The Nubia Red Magic Mars RNG Edition comes in 8GB and 10GB RAM options The phone sports signature of Royal Never Give Up (RNG) e-sports players on its back panel The handset comes in only a red colour version   Nubia is one of many smartphone manufacturers who make handsets that appeal to mobile gamers. The company recently launched the Nubia Red Magic Gaming smartphone in India and it has now launched another variant of the phone in its home country, China. The new version is called the Nubia Red Magic Mars RNG Edition and the highlight of the phone is basically in its name. RNG Edition is a reference to the Chinese eSports team, Royal Never Give Up (RNG). The new variant comes in red colour and sports signatures of the RNG players on its rear panel. Additionally, it comes in 10GB and 8GB RAM versions.  Nubia Red Magic Mars RNG Edition specifications The Nubia Red Magic Mars RNG Edition features specifications almost identical to those of the Nubia Red Mars. It features a 6-inch Full HD+ screen with an 18:9 display aspect ratio and runs Red Magic OS 1.6, which is based upon Android 9.0 Pie. The phone is powered by the octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC and as mentioned above, comes in 8GB and 10GB RAM versions, with the option to select from 128GB and 256GB of internal storage. The device is backed by a 3,800mAh battery that supports fast charging. In terms of optics, the Nubia Red Magic Mars RNG Edition comes equipped with a 16MP single rear camera with an f/1.8 aperture and phase detection autofocus (PDAF). On the front is an 8MP sensor with f/2.0 aperture. Additional features of the phone include a DTS 7.1 channel with 3D surround sound, and an RGB LED strip on the back panel. Additionally, the device sports liquid and air cooling technology, which is said to keep the temperature in check while gaming.  Nubia Red Magic Mars RNG Edition price Nubia has priced the 8GB RAM version of the new Red Magic Mars RNG Edition at CNY 3,299 (Rs 33,478 approx), while its 10GB RAM variant sports a price tag of CNY 3,888 (Rs 39,486 approx).  Related Reads:  Nubia Red Magic gaming smartphone with Air Convection Cooling System, Snapdragon 835 SoC launched in India  

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