Highlights: UberBOAT service with on-demand speed boats announced in Mumbai. UberBOAT will be available from Mumbai's coastal routes, Gateway of India, Elephanta Islands and Mandwa Jetty. The service will be available from February 1. Uber has announced a pilot launch of its new UberBOAT service in Mumbai, in partnership with Maharashtra Maritime Board. The company’s new on-demand speed boat service will enable customers to use waterways as a mode of transportation from the city’s popular coastal routes namely Gateway of India, Elephanta Islands and Mandwa Jetty. The new service will be available for Uber users in Mumbai from February 1 and there are two variants of the service, UberBOAT with a seating capacity of six to eight passengers and another called UberBOAT XL for more than ten passengers. The rides will cost Rs 5,700 for UberBOAT and Rs 9,500 for BOAT XL, for all the active routes. Commenting on the launch of UberBOAT, Prabhjeet Singh, Head of Cities, Uber India & South Asia says, “We are excited to launch UberBOAT in Mumbai, in partnership with Maharashtra Maritime Board. As pioneers in the organized on-demand transport system, Uber’s vision is to create a multi-modal platform to better serve riders and the cities we operate in. With UberBOAT, we will tap the vast potential of the city’s waterways transport system. We aim to provide efficient and easily accessible services to riders who are looking at navigating through these specific routes. With this service, boat operators will be able to gain access to Uber’s highly engaged rider base and enhance their earning opportunity.” Mr. Vikram Kumar, CEO, Maharashtra Maritime Board, said, "We are delighted to see the first ever and unique initiative by Uber to launch uberBOAT service in Mumbai. We are confident that this will further bolster the city’s waterway transport facilities by providing locals/Mumbaikars as well as tourists a reliable and convenient option to travel between Gateway of India, Mandwa and Elephanta. Additionally, Maharashtra maritime board will further strive and work with Uber to create new possibilities and augment business for local boat operators.” Additionally, all the UberBOAT rides will come equipped with safety features like emergency contact details, lifejackets, printed collaterals along with a manual that highlights safety instructions. Related Reads: Uber Lite app optimised for entry-level Android smartphones and low network connectivity launched in India Google Assistant in India can now be used to book Uber and Ola rides 
from Latest Technology News http://bit.ly/2S2YX6w
Highlights LG V50 ThinQ could be company's first 5G smartphone Might be announced at MWC 2019 Would be available in North America and Europe first With Mobile World Congress 2019 just around the corner, we’re hearing rumours that LG might not stop at announcing just the LG G8. The company may not sto at the G8 though, with rumours suggesting that LG would also end up announcing the LG V50, the company’s first 5G smartphone. 5G is the big thing for this year amongst telecom operators, smartphone manufacturers and even chipset makers. Everyone is betting big on 5G, with some companies already having pledged to produce a 5G smartphone in this year. OnePlus has done this, as has Samsung. Now, thanks to a leak from etnews, a Korean publication, we are expecting that the company will announce the LG V50 ThinQ alongside the LG G8 ThinQ at its press conference during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The leak further details that the LG V50 ThinQ will come equipped with the optional X50 5G modem. Additionally, we can expect the phone to have a 6-inch display and a 4000mAh battery. It is not yet clear whether LG will use IPS-LCD or OLED panel for the phone since the company tends to flip-flop between the two. The 5G phone is expected to launch in North American and Europe first, for a suggested retail price of $1163. According to a story by Pocket-Lint, the 5G modems in LG’s phone has been having some issues with excess heat, suggesting that the V50 might come with a vapour chamber cooler. We don’t know whether this is an issue with the X50 modem in general, a side-effect of 5G or an issue isolated to LG’s rumoured device. It would appear that after a lacklustre MWC in 2018, LG is planning to make some big announcements at the world’s biggest mobile expo this year. Related Read: Qualcomm skips India on 2019 5G roadmap, here's why
Highlights Nokia 9 PureView could launch during MWC 2019 Nokia 9 PureView is rumoured to sport 5 rear cameras Nokioa 9 Pureview has been rumoured since 2017 The Nokia 9 has been the subject of relentless rumours of over two years now. We first heard rumours of the phone back in 2017, and as the years have passed, the rumours just keep coming. In the last few months, rumours of an upcoming Nokia 9 have been gaining some credibility though, with leaks of purported cases and what not. Now, it would seem that the Nokia 9 might have an actual launch date. HMD Global owned Nokia has announced their event for 24th February during the Mobile World Congress days. Incidentally, a phone with the product code TA-1094 has passed China’s 3C certification process, leading many to believe that this is the Nokia 9, and it could be announced at MWC 2019. However, we do strongly urge some caution as we know that when Nokia launches a phone in China, it may or may not come to international markets right after. The listing says that the phone will be accompanied by an 18watt fast charger, but nothing else. There are no details on the specifications or even the design of the phone. What we do know, and can naturally expect, is for the phone to sport Zeiss Optics, given that the two companies renewed their partnership last year. A case that leaked earlier showed 7 holes on the back, 5 presumably for the 5 cameras, one for the flash and the seventh hole for an optical sensor. What we can speculate is that the Nokia 9 could come with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor, which would make sense given that flagship devices should sport flagship specs, but given how long there have been rumours around this phone, it is possible that the prototyping concluded before the Snapdragon 855 was made available to OEMs. Hence, it could potentially just end up coming with a Snapdragon 845. Almost all rumours point to the phone featuring the Snapdragon 845, possibly mated with 6GB of RAM. Rumours also suggest that the Nokia 9 could rock a QHD display. It might also sport a hefty battery. Rumours of this nature regarding the announcement of the Nokia 9 have come up before, especially around major international events like MWC and even Nokia’s own global product launches, so we would suggest taking this one with a pinch (or two) of salt. Related Read: Nokia 9 launch postponed due to camera issues: Report
Highlights Google Pixel 3XL with 4GB RAM spotted Listing suggests Snapdragon 710 processor May launch in Spring 2019 as Verizon exclusive There have been plenty of rumours about the existence of a “cheaper” variant of the Pixel phones, dubbed Pixel Lite. The Google Pixel 3 Lite and Pixel 3XL Lite have been leaked repeatedly through CAD renders and what not. Every time the phone leaks, there is some new information that comes to light. Today, the Pixel 3 Lite made an appearance on Geekbench, revealing some interesting information about the specifications of the allegedly upcoming smartphones from Google. The newest listing on Geekbench shows the Pixel 3XL Lite as sporting 4GB of RAM, which is interesting seeing how an earlier leak that revealed the same phone to sport 6GB of RAM. The Google Pixel 3 Lite and Pixel 3 XL Lite are supposed to be mid-range smartphones from Google, but somehow, the XL variant sports more RAM than Google’s current flagship device. Regardless, the device managed to score 1640 and 4973 in Single and Multi-Core tests respectively. The numbers fall within the expected range for mid-range devices. A few days ago, thre same phone had popped up on Geekbench, but with 6GB RAM listed instead of 4. The Google Pixel 3 Lite is expected to be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 670 while the bigger Google Pixel 3XL Lite is expected to be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 chipset. With respect to RAM, we expect both the phones to sport up to 4GB RAM, but seeing that 2019 is all about new trends, we could see Google deviate from the norm. The Google Pixel 3 XL Lite is rumoured to come with a 6-inch display and 32GB of RAM. Both the phones are expected to sport a 12-megapixel rear camera and an 8-megapixel front-facing shooter which would allegedly deliver the same quality of imaging as the flagship Pixel smartphones. The Google Pixel 3 Lite, on the other hand, will sport a smaller, 5.56-inch FHD+ display and a smaller battery. Interestingly, rumours point that the two phones could support Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 4+ technology, a proprietary standard, instead of USB-PD, an open standard that Google has been pushing for the mass adoption of. As of now, it isn’t clear if and when Google will announce these new mid-range smartphones, although rumours suggest a Spring 2019 release.
The Honor View 20 has been in our test lab for some days, and there has been a lot of excitement around it. IT sports a top-of-the-line processor from HiSilicon, a gratuitious 6 gigs of RAM and a time...
Key Highlights: Samsung has started mass-producing 1TB flash storage ahead of Galaxy S10 release. 1TB UFS chip has the same footprint as the 512GB one, which Samsung claimed as an industry-first. The Galaxy S10 is expected to come with the upgraded storage that can store 260 10-minute 4K videos. Samsung announced on Tuesday it has started mass-production of 1 terabyte flash storage for smartphones, making it the industry first. The 1TB UFS is twice as much as what is available right now. The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 houses 512GB flash storage, and in the upcoming Galaxy S10 flagships, choosing which photo to delete will be a thing of the past. The 1TB UFS storage sports the same footprint, which is something only Samsung has been able to do. Samsung claims the upgraded storage will bring a more “notebook-like” experience to its upcoming smartphones. With 1TB of onboard storage on a smartphone, users may be able to store 260 10-minute 4K videos as compared to 13 videos on a 64GB storage which is “widely used in current high-end smartphones,” according to Samsung. The 1TB UFS also comes with the promise of faster data transfer speeds. Samsung claimed the storage can move data 10 times faster than a microSD card. With smartphone OEMs coming up with ingenious ways to differentiate themselves, storage is something Samsung hopes will help smartphones stand out. As camera and content capture tech improved over time, the demand for more storage is now more than ever. There are strong rumours that the top variant of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S10 will come with 1TB of onboard flash storage. The Galaxy S10 Plus is expected to tout four rear cameras and two front-facing cameras. The company announced it plans to expand the production of 1TB eUFS in the first half of 2019 to “fully address the anticipated strong demand for the 1TB eUFS from mobile device manufacturers around the world.” Related Reads: Samsung Galaxy S10+ to sport 12GB RAM and 1TB storage: Report Samsung Galaxy S10+ with Snapdragon 855 SoC spotted on Geekbench
Highlights: TRAI’s new rules for TV channel selection go into effect from Feb 1. Most DTH service providers are now enabling users to choose the channels they want to watch. Here we have listed the process for some of the major DTH providers. TRAI’s new order marking changes to TV channel selection will be implemented from February 1. Those who have a DTH connection in their home will need to select channels, individually or from bouquets, that they want to watch. The new rules are meant to save money for TV channel subscribers but it remains to be seen if consumers will actually be able to save money or not under the new scheme. The date of implementation of new rules draws near and almost all the major DTH subscribers have announced the process, which their consumers will need to follow for watching TV channels under the new scheme. Here’s a rundown. Tata Sky Tata sky has set-up a web-portal where its users can log-in and select various options on how to recharge under the new scheme. One can visit the website here and login using their Registered Mobile Number (RTN) or subscriber ID. They will then be presented with three options, ‘Recommended for you’, ‘Tata Sky Packs’ and ‘All Packs and Channels’. The first option will be based on the current pack that is activated for the user, while the Tata Sky Packs are all “Curated & Regional Packs by Tata Sky.” The third option is basically a listing of all channels and bouquets provided by the network broadcasters. We logged in to find that the 'Recommended for you' option suggested a considerably more expensive option compared to our current connection. The current pack we have is the Sports Dhamaka pack, which is priced at Rs 420 per month with 221 channels and services. The new option suggested a new plan priced at Rs 646 per month that “Matches key channels.” The second option of Tata Sky Packs is basically a selection of Bouquets by different broadcasters and it just might work for someone, depending upon the channels they want to watch. Under all Packs and Channels, one will find the a-la-carte option to select the channels they want to watch. However, we noted that Tata Sky is charging over the maximum price of Rs 19 for some SD and HD channels, more than prices specified by broadcasters. Airtel Digital TV Airtel Digital TV subscribers will get to choose channels under the new TRAI rules when they log in to the company’s Subscriber Corner, which can be accessed here. Users can then proceed to view their Digital TV connections and click on 'Proceed to Recharge' option. In the next window, under the Connections tab, there is a banner that enables one to select channels under new TRAI rules. Clicking on the option will open a new web-page that displays packs curated by Airtel and scrolling down, one can choose from Broadcaster Bouquet or a-la-carte mode. We noticed that even Airtel has incorrectly priced some of the channels as their prices exceed those prescribed by broadcasters. Users who want to go through the same process offline can navigate to channel 998 and make their own plans or select from a range of recommended plans as per the new TRAI guidelines. On the said channel, they will get to see the new channel prices and select them, in an a-la-carte mode and/or as bouquet plans. They can then scan a QR code from their TV via their phone and send it to 54325 for activating the pack with their selected channels. The selected pack will be activated on their connection from February 1. A demonstration of how to go with the process is also available on channel no 999. Videocon D2H Videocon D2H service provider is also sending a notification to its users to head over to its web-portal and select the channels they want to watch. And we did, however, we had a tough time finding the new options as the new web-pages are hidden under the Consumer Corner tab on the top bar. One will need to select 'Create Your Own Pack' under the 'Consumer Corner' tab to select channels or bouquets to proceed with creating a new plan for their DTH subscription under the new mandate. One can click here to visit the Videocon website, log in and create a plan for their connection. Dish TV Dish TV users will find the option to register for the TV channels they want to watch by navigating to the DTH provider’s website. The option to do so pops up on the website and one can log-in and select the channels or bouquets they want. There are also some pre-provided Dish Combo plans, which might interest users. You can access the website here to select the channels you want to watch. What you need to know TRAI said that its new rules are meant for reducing cable and DTH bills and they will go into effect from February 1. Almost all network broadcasters have announced the new pricing for their TV channels and under the new rules, every DTH service provider will charge a mandatory Network Capacity Fee (NCF) of Rs 130 + taxes, total not exceeding Rs 154, that will accommodate 100 Free-to-Air (FTA) channels. In case one wants to add more channels, they will need to pay an additional Rs 20 for getting network capacity of 25 additional channels. Meanwhile, we are trying to clarify why certain channels are priced higher by DTH providers. Related Reads: Will new DTH Channel rules make TV watching cheaper or more expensive? DTH channel selection becomes easier with TRAI Channel Selector web app: How to use, channel pricing and all you need to know Here’s how much TV channels will cost from January 1 as per new TRAI price regime
