Vodafone Idea users can recharge their prepaid numbers at ATMs

The entire nation is in lockdown due to the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak and telcos are working to find different ways in which users can recharge their smartphones. Once a user's validity or data pack is over, he/she cannot resort to apps like PayTM, Amazon Pay and more to recharge the number. Traditionally, the user would visit a store and purchase a top-up, but since the nation is in a lockdown, it is difficult to find stores where this is possible. Since ATM services are working, users can go to an ATM and follow the onscreen instructions to recharge their mobile phones. The ability to recharge using an ATM has been available to Reliance Jio and Airtel users, and now it is available to Vodafone Idea users as well. 

Vodafone has also doubled the data available to users on the Rs 249, Rs 399 & Rs 599 recharges so people have more data when working from home. 

In other telecom news, Reliance Jio, Airtel and Vodafone Idea are looking at a “contactless digital customer acquisition process” to boost their SIM card sales numbers. In any other month, the number of SIM cards sold to customers by the three telcos ranges between 2.5- 3 million but in March, this number stood at 500,000. You can read more about the contactless digital customer acquisition here. 

If you are looking to recharge your phone and are looking at different data plans from different service providers, then here is a look at a comparison of prepaid plans between Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea. 

On the entertainment front, BSNL is giving users access to BSNL TV. You can learn more about it here.

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Disney+ Marvel Studios Phase 4 TV shows could still premiere in 2020

Disney has completely shut production on most of its live-action TV shows and feature films due to the ongoing health crisis which led to a huge reshuffle in the Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 4 slate. While Marvel Studios announced new release dates for films like Black Widow and The Eternals, the new Disney+ shows set to premiere in 2020 could still be on track to meet the release dates.

That’s according to a press release issued by Disney+ France, first reported by MCUCosmic, that lists The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and WandaVision to premiere sometime in 2020. This will be followed by Loki and What If… ? in 2021 and Hawkeye, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk and Moon Knight in 2022.

Variety had earlier reported that Marvel Studios shut production on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki and WandaVision due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is the first MCU Phase 4 TV Show that’s scheduled to premiere sometime in August 2020 followed by WandaVision in December. With production coming to a standstill, it's not currently known if we will be able to see either of them making a debut in time.

Having said that, the Disney+ France press release surely instils hope for two of the most awaited TV shows to release in due course this year. 

Marvel Studios Phase 4 feature film slate has been delayed with Black Widow now set for release on November 6. It was earlier slated for a May 1 premiere followed by the debut of The Eternals. It will now release on February 12, 2021. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings now premiere on May 7, 2021, while Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness hits theatres on November 5, 2021.

 

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Coronavirus effect: Reliance Jio, Airtel and Vodafone Idea looking at contactless SIM card sales

It looks like Reliance Jio, Airtel and Vodafone Idea are looking at a “contactless digital customer acquisition process” to boost their SIM card sales numbers. Due to the spread of the coronavirus, the number of SIM card sales has reduced as people are staying at home, stores are closed and there is no way for a customer to get a SIM card without visiting a shop. According to the Economic Times, the three telcos added a mere 500,000 new customers in March 2020. In any other month, the number of SIM cards sold to customers by the three telcos ranges between 2.5- 3 million. 

To combat this, it looks like the three telecom giants are looking at approvals from the department of telecom (DoT) and the home ministry to implement a process where e-KYC (electronic Know Your Customer) is implemented and a safe way can be implemented for courier delivery of the SIM card. 

"Operators are aware people need mobile connections but are facing hardship in getting them amid the nationwide lockdown, which is why, they are collectively working on a secure technology solution that can make SIMs available when people need it the most, and also boost customer adds," said Rajan Mathews, director-general of Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) that represents the three telcos to ET.

Another thing to note is that before the country went into lockdown, only a third of the overall recharges were digital. But it looks like all the recharges taking place now are digital through the network provider’s app or website or third-party apps like PayTM and others. 

A Vodafone Idea spokesperson told ET that the company is “developing a fully-automated, digital customer acquisition process, allowing customers to join its network from the comfort of their homes.” 

If someone has a prepaid number, it is obvious that he/she may not be able to recharge their number once the validity or data pack ends. In such cases, some telcos have enabled the ability to recharge their numbers via ATMs. You can learn how to recharge via an ATM here. In other telecom news, BSNL has launched a Rs 693 and Rs 1,212 prepaid plans with up to 500GB data and 365 days validity. You can read more about it here.

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Uber India and Flipkart set to deliver essential supplies during Coronavirus lockdown

Amidst the ongoing Coronavirus lockdown in India that’s in effect till April 14, Uber India has inked a deal with e-commerce giant Flipkart to deliver essential goods to people. Just last week, the ride-sharing service got into a partnership with BigBasket and Spencer’s Retail to facilitate last-mile delivery options for customers in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chandigarh and Noida. It also launched a dedicated service for medical workers called UberMedic.

The latest deal with Flipkart allows the delivery of essential supplies and groceries across Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. Moreover, Uber will not be charging any commission for these deliveries and all the order delivery fees go straight to the drivers. On regular days, these drivers have to forgo around 20-25% of their earnings in commissions, however, the outbreak of the pandemic might have offered them some respite in these regular deductions.

Commenting on the partnership, Rajneesh Kumar, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Flipkart, said, “This partnership is to help move essential supplies from our sellers/vendors to customers in the shortest possible span of time. Flipkart remains committed to supporting our customers and we are mobilizing all possible options to ensure that in this national fight against COVID 19, we can support the governments, by delivering essential supplies to people who are staying indoors.’’

Uber India has deployed its fleet of vehicles like UberGo, UberXL and Uber Moto to provide regular flowing access of essential supplies from Flipkart and other such retailers in different parts of the country.

While the nation-wide lockdown announced by the Indian government led to a complete standstill of on-demand cab services like Uber and Ola, using the same to deliver essential goods, medicines and groceries are permissible. Having said that, this partnership depends a lot on the extension of the lockdown period, which may or may not be likely.

 

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Disney+ Hotstar rolls out support for Dolby 51 surround sound but only for The Mandalorian

After its recent debut in India, Disney+ Hotstar is now streaming its popular TV show The Mandalorian with Dolby 5.1 surround sound. It is the only title available on the platform that supports high-quality audio playback hinting at an imminent widespread rollout.

In response to a user’s query on Twitter, Disney+ Hotstar tweeted the following:

Yes, You can enjoy The Mandalorian with 5.1 sound on our latest apps on Fire TV, Android TV and Apple TV. We will be bringing 5.1 sound to more content soon. Appreciate your support.

— Disney+HS_helps (@hotstar_helps) April 3, 2020

Just about a year back, the erstwhile Hotstar had revealed that high-quality audio support was “a part of the road map” and it was in pretty early stages. Looks like with the launch of Disney+ Hotstar, the company is now prepping to introduce Dolby 5.1 surround sound support to other shows and movies as well.

There’s a possibility that 4K UHD support with HDR is also in development but we could be reading too much in between the lines. However, 4K support is something that a premier OTT service can’t live without in 2020.

With the roll-out of Dolby 5.1 support for a single show, it’s not yet clear if and when we will be able to see more content with high-quality audio. For now, subscribers are having to do with stereo sound and up to Full HD (1080p) playback quality.

The other two big OTT platforms, Netflix and Prime Video, both offer Dolby Digital Plus or Dolby Atmos supported content and up to 4K UHD playback quality. This definitely gives them an edge over newly minted Disney+ Hotstar. Interestingly, while Disney+ supports streaming in 4K globally, due to its partnership with Hotstar we are now having to make do with 1080p as the highest quality.

Disney+ Hotstar offers over 7,000 episodes worth of TV shows with 500+ movies from the house of Disney, Pixar, Marvel Studio, Star Wars and National Geographic. There are two new annual subscription plans-- Disney+ Hotstar VIP and Disney+ Hotstar Premium. The VIP plan costs Rs 399 while the Premium tier subscription offers Disney+ original content and is priced at Rs 1,499.

 

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iOS14 may bring new wallpaper settings and widgets to the iPhone

Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference, WWDC, is still a comfortable two months away, but we’re already getting early leaks of iOS 14. It is interesting to see the potential features Apple may be working on to bring to their next version of the mobile operating system. An early leak of iOS 14 code reveals that Apple may bring some interesting customization options to iPhone users with the next version of iOS.

Twitter user DongleBookPro has shared screenshots from iOS14’s wallpaper settings page. The screenshots show the better organization of the images based on their nature, such as flowers, Earth and Moon etc instead of all the images just being grouped as one. The screenshot also shows a setting called “Home Screen Appearance,” which is just like the one on the Apple Watch. Through this feature, users will be able to define a single dynamic wallpaper for the lock screen and when they unlock the phone, a version of it will appear on the home screen.  The screenshots show a solid gradient, a blurry version and a dark variant of the dynamic wallpaper. This will allow the transition from the lock screen to the home screen to be more fluid and natural.

Other leaks hint at the presence of widgets on the home screen, just like the one on iPadOS. However, unlike the widget of iPadOS which are fixed, the ones coming in iOS 14 will be movable. 9to5Mac notes that all of this is revealed through an early code leak of iOS 14, and features may be delayed or dropped entirely from the final version of mobile OS.

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Zoom improves security by implementing passwords for meetings

The Coronavirus has put much of the world under lockdown, but that hasn’t stopped the employed strata of society from conducting their duties. This allowed Zoom to gain mass popularity extremely quick, also exposing the privacy nightmare the app was. As the company moves towards damage control, one of the measures announced has been to implement the use of passwords for future Zoom calls.

Starting April 5, Zoom has implemented the password-system for calls made on its platform. This was done to prevent people from “video-bombing” Zoom calls, where an unwanted individual would enter the call and start playing loud music or put up obscene pictures etc. Zoom is preventing this by requiring users to enter a password to enter calls via Meeting ID. Additionally, Zoom will also make virtual waiting room on by default allowing the host to manually approve attendees.

Zoom communicated a number of changes to its users via email. The email reads “For meetings scheduled moving forward, the meeting password can be found in the invitation. For instant meetings, the password will be displayed in the Zoom client. The password can also be found in the meeting join URL.”

Zoom has been at the very centre of privacy-related concerns, with the number of lapses numbering into far too many. From vulnerabilities that allowed hackers to hijack webcams to leaking user email IDs. There were also recent reports of a large number of recordings of video conferences being available online. This falls in line with earlier reports that Zoom calls are not end-to-end encrypted. The domino that started this entire privacy nightmare was the initial report of Zoom sharing data with Facebook. Who would have thought that sharing data with Facebook would be the least of users’ concerns? Recently, Zoom CEO Eric S Yuan did mention that the company would halt development on new features, in light of fixing the current privacy concerns with the app. This is a good first step.

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