Panasonic announces Miraie connected home experience in India

As if to add to the rising competition in the Indian connected home appliances market, Panasonic announced earlier today the Miraie connected home experience. Available in Panasonic’s home appliances such as water heaters, air conditioners, ceiling fans, and washing machines from this year on, Miraie aims to give more control to the user through the use of voice commands and Panasonic’s proprietary Miraie app, which is currently available on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

Miraie-enabled home appliances from Panasonic use the ZigBee home automation specification to allow remote operation using the Miraie smartphone app. For example, a user will be able to control their Panasonic air conditioner remotely using their smartphone. In addition, these Miraie-enabled appliances have native support for digital voice assistants such as Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, which will allow users to control their Panasonic home appliance using their smart speakers or smart displays.

Nearly all inverter-driven air conditioners in Panasonic’s 2020 product portfolio will feature Miraie, said Manish Sharma, President and CEO of Panasonic India and South East Asia, in a response to Digit at the launch event in New Delhi. According to the Japanese electronics manufacturer, the Miraie smartphone app will also act as a digital warranty card for all Miraie-enabled appliances. Customers will also be able to purchase spare parts and perform preventive diagnostic checks using the app.

Miraie will work across many of Panasonic’s products, including air conditioners, smart doorbells, smart plugs and switches, etc. It’s worth noting that Panasonic sells domestic plugs and switches under the Anchor sub-brand. According to Panasonic, Miraie means future in Japanese. The Miraie experience was conceptualised and developed at Panasonic’s India Innovation Centre in Bengaluru. The company says it ran consumer feedback programmes across five Indian cities during the development of Miraie to understand the wants of its consumers.

from Latest Technology News https://ift.tt/38qdyga

MIT researchers develop a text-generating system that can automatically update Wikipedia articles

Wikipedia is a vast website used by thousands of users every day for looking up information. However, keeping the web pages updated with the latest facts is no easy feat, since people contribute towards this task during their spare time. With millions of web pages in need of constant updating, it can be difficult to post updated information promptly. MIT researchers have now developed a new text generating system, which can be employed to automatically update factual inconsistencies in Wikipedia articles. This new system is being presented at the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence in a research paper. It is described as a text-producing system that is capable of finding and replacing specific information in relevant Wikipedia sentences, in a manner similar to how humans write and edit.

The new system will apparently provide contributors with an interface where they can type unstructured sentences with updated information. One won’t need to worry about grammar or style since the system would take care of it. Once relevant information is entered, the system is said to scrounge through Wikipedia to pinpoint the relevant page and the outdated sentence that is to be replaced, and it will rewrite it just like a human would. “In the future, the researchers say, there’s potential to build a fully automated system that identifies and uses the latest information from around the web to produce rewritten sentences in corresponding Wikipedia articles that reflect updated information,” MIT News article states. 

Currently, bots are said to be used on Wikipedia for other text-generating applications. However, they are said to be employed for tackling vandalism or dropping some narrowly defined information into predefined templates. The new system works by taking a “claim” sentence, which is basically newly entered information and compares it with “outdated” information. The new claim will basically be conflicting information and the system will automatically delete and keep specific words in the outdated sentence while preserving grammar and style based on the new information. 

from Latest Technology News https://ift.tt/2HkMm6U

Xiaomi Mi 10, Mi 10 Pro launched with 108MP camera, Snapdragon 865 SoC and more

After teasing the Mi 10 series for long, Xiaomi has finally launched the Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro. The handsets are quite similar when it comes to specifications. However, they differ in terms of battery and storage. Both of them feature a 90Hz refresh rate, 108MP camera, and more. Here is all you need to know about the two phones.

Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro specifications

Xiaomi Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro feature a 6.67-inch (2340 × 1080 pixels) Full HD+ AMOLED with 19.5:9 aspect ratio that supports a 90Hz refresh rate. The handsets are powered by the Snapdragon 865 7nm Mobile Platform, which is paired with Adreno 650 GPU. Available in 8GB and 12GB RAM variants, the handsets feature 256GB or 512GB of internal UFS 3.0 storage. Both smartphones support dual SIM. 

In terms of optics, the handsets sport a quad rear-camera setup. The primary 108 camera on the back is a Samsung sensor with f/1.69 aperture that supports OIS. It is accompanied by a 12MP 1/2.6-inch 2PD sensor for 2x zoom and portrait. There is also an 8MP telephoto lens for 10x hybrid zoom, 50x digital zoom, and 5x optical zoom. It supports OIS as well. The fourth sensor is a 20MP ultra-wide-angle lens. The rear cameras support  8k at 30fps, 4k recording at 60fps, and 960fps at 720p. On the front sits a 20MP selfie shooter on the phones.

The Mi 10 packs a 4780mAh battery, whereas the Mi 10 Pro comes equipped with a 4500mAh battery. They both support 30W QC 4+ / PD3.0 wired, and wireless fast charging, along with 10W wireless reverse charging. Both smartphones support 5G and sport WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 for connectivity.

Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro price

The Xiaomi Mi 10 will be available in Titanium Black, Ice Blue and Peach Gold colours. It is priced at 3999 yuan (approx Rs 40,920) for the 8GB RAM with 128GB storage version and 4299 yuan (approx Rs 43,990 ) for the 8GB RAM with 256GB storage version. The top-end 12GB RAM with 256GB storage version costs 4699 yuan (approx Rs 48,080).

Coming to the Mi 10 Pro, it will be made available in Starry Blue and Pearl White colours. It is priced at 4999 yuan (approx Rs 51,150) for the 8GB RAM with 256GB storage version, 5499 yuan (Rs 56,270) for the 12GB RAM with 256GB storage version and the top-end 12GB RAM with 512GB storage option costs 5999 yuan (approx Rs 61,370).

from Latest Technology News https://ift.tt/2tXLXEi

Lenovos Legion to launch a gaming-centric phone with Snapdragon 865 SoC soon

Lenovo’s Legion brand recently set up its Weibo account and now the company has teased the arrival of its gaming-centric phone. It reveals that the upcoming gaming phone will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chipset. Notably, if the phone launches anytime soon, Lenovo would be among the earliest brands to launch a phone with Snapdragon 865 SoC. However, the teaser doesn’t reveal anything aside from the chipset.

The latest development comes from Lenovo Legion’s Weibo account. While the teaser reveals information about the chipset Legion gaming phone will run on, there is no other information available on Legion’s Weibo timeline. The company is looking forward to following Asus’ strategy. For reference, Asus launched a gaming phone under its Republic of Gamers (ROG) brand. Lenovo will be doing the same with its Legion brand.

While Lenovo hasn’t launched many phones in India, the brand has been fairly active in China with the launch of high-end smartphones under the Lenovo Z-series. While the Z-series comes with flagship specifications, they are not targeted at mobile gaming enthusiasts, which is expected to change with the launch of the Legion gaming phone. 

Not much is known about the Legion gaming phone at this moment. However, if we were to speculate, we expect an aggressive design language, high refresh-rate panel up to 144Hz, an ample amount of RAM - most likely LPDDR5. It may come with the latest UFS storage standard. 

We expect more details about the device to emerge soon as we close-in on the launch.

from Latest Technology News https://ift.tt/31WakP9

Samsung Quick Share to take on Apple AirDrop with Galaxy S20 phones

Samsung just launched its new Galaxy S20 series of smartphones, which come with a slew of new features and upgraded hardware over their predecessors. While almost everything of importance was announced during the cell phone launch, there are some additional features that are coming to light now. The web page for the Samsung Galaxy S20 is up now and it details a new file sharing feature called Quick Share, which seems like Samsung’s answer to Apple’s AirDrop functionality. Going by Quick Share’s description on the website, the feature can be used to share files with up to five people that are nearby.

The feature debuted with the Galaxy S20 series of smartphones and is currently available only for the Galaxy S20, S20+ and the S20 Ultra 5G. Support for other devices will be added “soon.” One notable advantage Samsung’s file-sharing feature has is the ability to send files to up to five people simultaneously. Apple users, on the other hand, can send files only to one recipient via AirDrop. XDA Developers shared some screenshots of the Quick Share feature last month, which hinted at functionality similar to AirDrop. One should be able to choose who to send files to, either their contacts or anyone with a compatible Samsung phone or tablet. 

While Samsung has its own solution for its devices, Google is rumoured to be working on Nearby Sharing. While the feature is expected to be made available for Pixel phones, it could also be made available for other handsets. A video showed that the feature is quick to transfer files over Wi-Fi and is said to work well when two devices are within one foot of each other. Users could also restrict their device’s visibility, if you don’t want unknown people to send you files using the feature.

from Latest Technology News https://ift.tt/2SK6Nza

Oppo Reno3 Pro teaser page goes live ahead of India launch, confirms dual punch-hole display

The Oppo Reno3 Pro will be launching in India soon. The handset was introduced alongside the Oppo Reno3 in China last December. While the Chinese variant features 5G connectivity, its Indian version will sport 4G connectivity. Now, Oppo Reno3 Pro’s teaser page has gone live on its website, Amazon.in and Flipkart. Moreover, the Indian variant will sport a dual punch-hole display, instead of a single punch-hole selfie module on the Chinese model.

“OPPO Reno3 Pro with its #DualPunchHole Camera is coming soon to let you witness the world, Clear in Every Shot,” says the company. According to the teaser image, “the Dual Front Camera provides a Binocular Bokeh Effect by sharpening the edges and producing background gradient.” The Reno3 Pro will sport a 44MP dual punch-hole camera. It is expected to have a 2MP secondary sensor. 

The Chinese variant of Oppo Reno3 Pro features a 6.5-inch full-HD+ (1080 x 2400 pixels) curved AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate and Gorilla Glass 5 protection. It runs Android 10 with ColorOS 7 skin on top. Moreover, the handset comes equipped with a quad rear camera setup which consists of a 48MP Sony IMX586 primary camera sensor with f/1.7 aperture. Additionally, there's an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera with a 116-degree field of view, a 13MP telephoto lens with EIS and 5x hybrid zoom support and finally, a 2MP monochrome lens with an f/2.4 aperture. 

The Chinese model of Reno3 Pro packs a 4025mAh battery that supports VOOC Flash Charge 4.0. It comes with an in-display fingerprint sensor for authentication and supports multi-function NFC. 

The Oppo Reno3 Pro is priced at CNY 3,999 (Rs 40,000 approx) for the 8GB + 128GB model in China.

from Latest Technology News https://ift.tt/2Hi1Jwy

Oppo 2F gets a Rs 2,000 price cut in India, now available for Rs 21,990

The Oppo Reno 2F was launched in India in August last year for Rs 25,990. It features a quad rear camera setup and a pop-up selfie camera module. The handset received a price cut in November. Now, the price has been slashed again and the Reno 2F is available for Rs 21,990. The revised pricing is reflecting through the official listing on the Amazon India website. 

Oppo Reno2 F comes equipped with a 6.53-inch full-HD+ (1,080 x 2,340 pixels) AMOLED display with 19.5:9 aspect ratio. It is powered by MediaTek Helio P70 chipset, paired with 8GB RAM. Oppo provides 128GB of internal storage on the Reno 2F. The handset packs a 4000mAh battery that supports VOOC 3.0 Flash Charge. It has a 3.5mm headphone jack as well.

In the optics department, Oppo Reno2 F sports a quad rear camera setup:  a 48MP Samsung GM1 sensor + a wide-angle 8MP sensor with an f/2.2 aperture + 2MP sensor + 2MP lens. It also has features like 10x digital zoom and Ultra Night Mode 2.0 for low-light photography. However, it does not have EIS for video stabilisation.

Connectivity options on the Oppo Reno 2F include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS/ A-GPS, and Micro-USB. As for sensors onboard, the handset has an accelerometer, ambient light sensor, gyroscope, magnetometer, and a proximity sensor. 

Oppo Reno 2F was launched alongside the Reno2 and Reno 2Z last year. The Reno2 is the costliest of the three devices and it was launched for Rs 36,990.

from Latest Technology News https://ift.tt/37kEIE4