Alleged Nokia Android-powered phones images leak

Currently, the feature phones in the market are powered by KaiOS that has Google’s backing, but now a latest development has suggested that the search engine giant is moving ahead with rumoured plans developing Android OS for feature phones. An image allegedly of a Nokia-branded feature phone with Android OS has surfaced online. While there is no visible branding on it due to what appears to be a silicon/rubber casing, the image shared by 9to5google, shows a phone with Nokia-style “phone” button. 

The basic difference between these phones and the ones powered by Android Go is that these Android-powered feature phones will have number pad instead of a touchscreen. The phones will be navigated using a traditional D-pad and will have shoulder buttons to complete an action. In the image, we could also see an alleged new Android home screen layout on the phone screen. There is Google’s standard microphone icon top of the screen, indicating that the phone could come with Google Assistant. Just below that, there’s an option to “Change speaking language.” A row of apps, including Camera, Chrome, and YouTube follows the language speaking option.

At MWC 2019, Google announced that voice typing will be available via Google Assistant on devices running on KaiOS, which is an operating system made for smart feature phones. Google claimed there was a 7x increase in the use of Google Assistant among feature phone users in India, Indonesia, Mexico and Brazil in 2018. The speech-to-text feature will allow feature phone users to populate a text field using nothing but their voice.

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Oppo K3 with Snapdragon 710, in-display fingerprint sensor and pop-up camera launched in India: All you need to know

Oppo has expanded its online portfolio of smartphones with the launch of Oppo K3 today. While the smartphone was launched in China a couple of months ago, it will go on sale in India on July 23. The Oppo K3 is designed to “appeal to the young smartphone buyers in India,” said Oppo during the launch event. It comes with features like GameBoost 2.0 and DC dimming for the mobile gamers. Oppo says, the smartphone is certified by Germany's TUV Rheinland for eye protection. 

Oppo K3 specifications

The Oppo K3 features a 6.5-inch FHD+ (2340x1080) notchless Super AMOLED display with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio. It also comes with an in-display fingerprint scanner. The device is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 chipset, paired with up to 8GB LPDDR4x RAM and up to 128GB of internal storage. 

As for the optics, the Oppo K3 sports a dual rear camera setup: a 16MP primary Sony IMX519 sensor and a 2MP depth sensor. The selfie shooter, which is a 16 MP Sony IMX471 sensor, is housed in a pop-up camera module. Moreover, Oppo claims that the camera module has a life of five years and can slide up within 0.74 seconds. The Oppo K3 also has an AI portrait mode and AI scene detection along with an Ultra Clear Night View 2.0 feature to brighten dark shots using a software algorithm.

As for the connectivity options, the new K-series smartphone has 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS/ A-GPS, and a USB Type-C port. It packs a 3,765mAh battery that supports fast charging through Oppo's VOOC 3.0. Also, it comes in two colours: Aurora Blue and Jade Black

Oppo K3 price, availability, and launch offers

The Oppo K3 price in India starts at Rs 16,990 for the base variant that has 16GB RAM and 64GB of internal storage. The other variant,  8GB RAM + 128GB internal storage, is priced at Rs. 19,990. Oppo will sell the smartphone via Amazon.in from July 23. 

Launch offers for the Oppo K3 include a Rs 1,000 cashback as Amazon Pay balance for all buyers. Additionally, the customers using Axis Bank credit or debit cards will also get an instant discount of Rs 1,000, which brings the effective price of the device down to Rs 14,990. Furthermore, the Oppo K3 buyers will receive benefits worth Rs. 7,050 from Jio, Lenskart gift vouchers, and Oyo vouchers. There are no cost EMI options on the table as well. 

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Researchers discover how mosquito brains work to hone in on a target

Researchers have found out what goes on in the brain of a mosquito, before she zeros in on a host to suck blood. The findings indicate that mosquitoes primarily depend on their sense of smell, and then their vision, to hone in on a target. Carbon dioxide, which is exhaled by humans and other animals are a primary trigger, which kicks the visual centres of the mosquito brain into action. The mosquito begins to scan the surroundings for shapes that could potentially match the target, or the source of carbon dioxide, and begins flying towards it.  A corresponding author of the study, Jeffrey Riffell said, “Our breath is just loaded with CO2. It’s a long-range attractant, which mosquitoes use to locate a potential host that could be more than 100 feet away.” While the mosquitoes can pick up the smell of carbon dioxide from a 100 feet away, their vision is only good for targets that are 20 feet away or closer.  The setup for the experiment was tiny, but elaborate. The main setup was a circular “arena”, seven inches in diameter. The inner wall of the arena formed an LED display, which provided the visual stimulus for the mosquitoes. A pipe introduced smells to the arena. In the middle, the mosquitoes were tethered, one at a time with a tungsten wire. An optical sensor below the mosquito gathered information on wingbeats, its frequency and direction. 250 individual mosquitoes were tested in this setup.  

The "Arena". Image: Kiley Riffell/UW

When 5 percent carbon dioxide was introduced to the arena, the mosquitoes beat their wings faster. The amount introduced is just a shade above what humans exhale - 4.5 percent. When the introduction of carbon dioxide was accompanied by a visual stimulus on the LED screen, the mosquito immediately turned towards this target. The stimulus was in the form of a simple horizontal bar. Other visual stimuli, such as fast moving starfields, had little effect on the behavior of the mosquito.  Now comes the really interesting part. The researchers conducted the same experiment with genetically modified mosquitoes. These mosquitoes had calls that glowed in fluorescent green, if there were high levels of calcium detected in them. As a result, the neural cells in these mosquitoes glow when they are actively firing. The researchers then removed a portion of the tiny mosquito skulls, exposed the brains in these mosquitoes, put them on the tether, and directly observed the mosquito brains under a microscope. This is where the researchers discovered that the neurons in the vision center of the brain fired when there was an olfactory stimulus. The reverse did not take place, where visual stimulus triggers the sense of smell. The neurons in the vision center start firing when the mosquito detects the smell of carbon dioxide. “Olfaction is a long-range sense for mosquitoes, while vision is for intermediate-range tracking. So, it makes sense that we see an odor — in this case CO2 — affecting parts of the mosquito brain that control vision, and not the reverse,” Rifell said.  Next, the researchers want to investigate the effects of other shapes on the behavior of mosquitoes. The research can pave the way for new ways to control mosquitoes, and prevent diseases spread by them.   

Source: University of Washington  Cover Image by Skeeze from Pixabay 

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India slips 3 positions in mobile, fixed broadband speeds in June: Ookla

India fell three ranks both in fixed and mobile broadband speed performance in the month of June and now ranks 74 and 126 respectively in the internet speeds globally, Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index has shown. On the internet speeds front, there has been a slight decline since the previous month as the current average mobile download speeds in India are 10.87 Mbps in mobile speeds and 29.06 Mbps in fixed broadband speeds.

In May, India ranked at 71 in fixed broadband and 123 in mobile speeds, and the mobile and fixed broadband speeds in May were 11.02 Mbps and 30.03 Mbps, respectively. On year-over-year basis, India’s rank has witnessed a significant decline in terms of its position globally. In July 2018, India ranked 111 in mobile and 56 in fixed broadband speeds.

“An ever-evolving focus on sophisticated network infrastructure will always be important for fixing network quality in India. India is one of the geographically largest and most populated country in the world, meaning a well laid out network that is able to handle high volumes of usage is a key in supporting the internet needs of the Indian market. Despite these challenges in India (high population, large geography, high density), further advancements in both 4G and 5G network technology will continue to improve network efficiency,” Doug Suttles, Co-Founder and General Manager at Ookla, said in a statement.

The June Speedtest Global Index shows South Korea at pole position in the world for mobile internet with an average download speed of 90.06 Mbps. Singapore still holds the top spot for fixed broadband with a 195.88 Mbps average download speed. Recently, Ookla confirmed that Vodafone has emerged as the fastest 4G network in Delhi NCR region for a period of April-June 2019 as well as in the West Bengal Telecom Circle for the January to March quarter. In the same quarter, Ookla verified Idea as the fastest 4G upload speed network in Gujarat and Haryana.

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Google’s Stadia Controller Won’t Work Support Bluetooth Headsets at Launch

Googles Stadia controllers would not work with Bluetooth headsets at launch, and the users will have to plug in a set of wired headphones into the controller’s 3.5mm jack.

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Nokia 61 Plus discounted, offers on Nokia 81 and Nokia 71 during Nokia Mobile Fan Festival

Even though the Amazon Prime Day Sale 2019 is now done and over with, Nokia is still offering some deals and discounts on its handsets. Nokia is hosting a Mobile Fan Festival sale on its official online shop, where it has discounted the mid-range Nokia 6.1 Plus handset and is instead offering some considerable deals on other Nokia handsets, like the Nokia 8.1 and Nokia 7.1. Starting with the Nokia 6.1 Plus, one can buy the Blue colour 4GB RAM version of it for Rs 9,999. At the time of writing this article, the lowest listed price of the smartphone was on Amazon, at Rs 11,790. The handset’s 6GB RAM variant is not discounted. 

There are also some offers on the Nokia 8.1 and Nokia 7.1 handsets. As per the Nokia India website, those who purchase any of the two handsets can use the promo code ‘FANFESTIVAL’ to receive a gift card worth Rs 4,000. In addition, there’s a 10-percent extra on exchange along with a no-cost EMI option on select credit cards. Airtel users will also get to avail an extra 360GB data on recharge plans priced at Rs 249 and Rs 349. Finally, a one-time free screen replacement option is also available till July 25, which will stand valid for six months after launch. 

The Nokia 6.1 Plus runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 and features a 5.8-inch 1080 x 2280p display. It comes with a 16MP + 5MP dual rear camera setup and sports a 16MP camera on the front. The Nokia 8.1 runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 chip and features a 6.18-inch Full HD+ display. It has a 12MP + 13MP dual rear cameras and there’s a 20MP sensor on the front. Coming to the Nokia 7.1, it runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 and is equipped with a 5.8-inch Full HD+ display. The handset comes with a dual 12MP + 5MP sensors on the back and gets an 8MP camera on the front.

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Hongmeng OS is not Android replacement, will not be used on smartphones: Top Huawei executive

Huawei’s Hongmeng OS is not for smartphones and the company intends to continue to use Google's Android operating system for its smartphones, Catherine Chen, company board member and Senior Vice President, has confirmed. She added that the recently trademarked Hongmeng OS is for industrial use and it has been in development long before the discussions around finding an alternative to Android were reported by the media.

When US imposed restrictions on US-based companies banning them to do business with Huawei, Google announced that it would cut ties with the Chinese company. This left no choice for Huawei and it was forced to look for an alternative for the Google-provided Android OS for its smartphones. Following this, media reported that the Hongmeng system would be Android’s replacement and is faster than Android.

Chen, when asked about it at a media roundtable in Brussels, said that the Hongmeng OS was not designed for that. She highlighted that while an operating system for smartphones usually contains dozens of millions of lines of codes, Hongmeng contains much fewer - in the quantity of hundreds of thousands - and therefore very secure. “The Hongmeng system also has extreme low latency compared with a smartphone operating system,” Xinhua news agency cited the executive as saying.

Earlier this month, Ren Zhengfei, the Founder of Huawei, had said that the Hongmeng operating system would be more than just an Android replacement. It’s made to interconnect all devices. He noted that the OS works on just about everything including network switches, data centers, routers as well as smartphones. Hongmeng OS likely holds good potential for being the OS of choice for IoT devices like smart homes, autonomous vehicles and the likes.

Huawei has now registered the name “Harmony OS” with the European Union Intellectual Property Office. The agency received the application on July 12 and it is currently under examination. The application reads, “Downloadable operating system programs; Recorded operating system programs; Mobile operating systems; Computer operating systems; Downloadable computer operating programs and computer operating systems.”

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