Lava Mobiles announces worlds first built-to-order phone along with Z-series and BeFIT fitness band in India

Lava Mobiles has launched its new Z-series smartphones in India along with MyZ, the world’s first made-to-order phone. The company had been teasing the launch of newly made in India phones along that it unveiled during the launch event today. Lava has also announced the Z1 which has been designed and manufactured in India under the government’s Make in India initiative.

Lava’s big reveal for the day was the built-to-order smartphone services it has announced alongside the new Z-series lineup. Lava will let users customize their phones before purchasing, allowing them the option to choose between rear and front-facing cameras, colours, RAM and storage. Lava calls these MyZ phones and users can customize it in 66 different ways. It will be available to purchase from the official website from January 11.

Additionally, Lava has also unveiled an upgrade service called My Zup which will let users upgrade the RAM and storage option after they have purchased and used the phone. The company also announced its fitness tracker in India called BeFIT.

Lava has launched the Z1, Z2, Z4, Z6 smartphones in India with multiple camera setup and here’s what each of them offers.

Lava Z1, Z2, Z4, Z6 specifications and pricing

Introducing Lava Z1, the world’s first Designed In India phone, a phone that truly meets the needs of millions of Indians and delivers a hang free experience. #WorldFirstByLava #ProudyIndian ​ To catch the event visit: https://t.co/BGo8M8KW1E pic.twitter.com/d2uFHK2vtL

— Lava Mobiles (@LavaMobile) January 7, 2021

Lava has launched the Z1 as its first designed in India phone and is priced at Rs 5,499. The phone features a 5-inch display topped with Gorilla Glass 3 and is powered by the MediaTek Helio A20 processor that is paired with 2GB RAM and 32GB storage. It also has a 5MP rear and front-facing camera for selfies. The Z1 is equipped with a 3,100mAh battery to boot.

Now stay on top of the game with Lava Z2 smartphone that comes with a powerful dual AI camera, letting you capture the unimaginable.​ To catch the event visit: https://t.co/BGo8M8KW1E​#WorldFirstByLava #ProudlyIndian pic.twitter.com/qXBsyi0npX

— Lava Mobiles (@LavaMobile) January 7, 2021

The Lava Z2 features a 6.5-inch HD+ display with a waterdrop notch cutout for the selfie camera along with a layer of Gorilla Glass 3. The phone is powered by the MediaTek Helio G35 processor which also powers other smartphones including the Micromax In 1B. This is paired with 2GB RAM and 32GB storage and the phone runs on stock Android 10 Go Edition. It has a 13MP primary camera and a 2MP secondary camera along with an 8MP selfie camera. The Lava Z2 is equipped with a 5,000mAh battery and is priced at Rs 6,999.

Give yourself a shot with the Lava Z4 that comes with a triple back camera and a power packed 16MP front camera in just Rs 8,999/-​ To catch the event visit: https://t.co/BGo8M8KW1E​#WorldFirstByLava #ProudlyIndian pic.twitter.com/4VwWS1qndq

— Lava Mobiles (@LavaMobile) January 7, 2021

Lava Z4 is priced at Rs 8,999 and offers a 6.5-inch HD+ display with a waterdrop notch cutout and is topped with Gorilla Glass 3. The phone has a triple camera setup on the back that includes a 13MP primary camera, a 5MP ultra-wide-angle camera and a 2MP depth sensor. On the front, there is a 16MP selfie camera. The Lava Z4 is also powered by the Helio G35 processor and is paired with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage with an option to upgrade the storage via microSD card. It runs on stock Android 10 and is equipped with a 5,000mAh battery. 

Introducing Lava Z6, a multitasking powerhouse with 6GB RAM and triple back camera, only at ₹9,999/-​ To know more visit: https://ift.tt/39dh0MM #ProudlyIndian pic.twitter.com/Kj1ZrcVzFL

— Lava Mobiles (@LavaMobile) January 7, 2021

The Lava Z6 shares its feature set with the Lava Z4 as it has the same display, processor, cameras and battery to boot. However, the Z6 is available with 6GB RAM and 64GB storage and is priced at Rs 9,999 in India.

Lava has also launched its first fitness band called BeFIT in India which is priced at Rs 2,699.

Lava MyZ made-to-order service along with Lava Z2, Z4 and Z6 will go on sale from January 11 across major offline and online retailers. Meanwhile, the Lava Z1 and BeFIT fitness band go on sale from January 26 on Amazon India and Lava Mobiles estore.

 

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Facebook has now removed the Like button from all public pages

With the new year comes new changes and Facebook looks to be one of the first major companies to really shake things up in 2021. The company has removed the ‘Like’ button from public pages. This essentially means that pages used by celebrities, artists, musicians, brands etc will have the ‘Like’ button removed. In a blog post, Facebook stated that these pages will only display info such as number of followers and a dedicated News Feed. 

This is what Facebook had to say regarding the matter, “We are removing Likes and focusing on Followers to simplify the way people connect with their favorite Pages. Unlike Likes, Followers of a Page represent the people who can receive updates from Pages, which helps give public figures a stronger indication of their fan base.”. The company goes on to say, “We want Facebook to be a safe place to connect with fans, so we’ve improved our ability to detect activity that isn’t allowed on our platform including hate speech, violent, sexual or spammy content and impersonation.”. 

Other changes include a redesigned layout on public pages, Updated task-based admin controls, Easy navigation between personal profile and Pages, Safety and integrity features to detect spammy content and impersonator accounts and more. Facebook has already gone through a major overhaul in the past few months, and it looks like there is no stopping the social media giant. Facebook's ambition of becoming a mainstream news medium is evident, and it's now reportedly working on a new tool that summarises news pieces for easy and faster consumption. You can read more about that here. 

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Amkette EvoFox GameBox is an Android TV box targeted at gamers

While the PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo consoles are the first to come to mind when talking about a gaming console sitting below your TV, there are other alternatives targeted at different consumers. We have devices like the NVIDIA Shield, running on Android giving you access to games on your TV. You can also connect a Bluetooth controller to the Fire TV stick for some casual gaming. Today, Amkette has launched its 4K EvoFox GameBox. The box runs on Android, has a hundred games preloaded and comes with a gamepad in the box. It is priced at Rs 9,999. 

Amkette 4K EvoFox GameBox features and specifications

The Amkette 4K EvoFox GameBox offers a plug and play experience and running on Android, the setup process shouldn’t be that difficult. It comes with 20 popular Android games and more than 100 retro games preinstalled with the option for users to download and install more. 

Starting with the specifications of the box, it is powered by an Amlogic S905X3 - quad-core Cortex A55 processor coupled with a Mali G31 3D GPU. It also boasts of a dedicated video and audio decode processor. It also comes with 4GB DDR3 RAM and 32GB eMMC built-in storage expandable up to 128GB via a microSD card. It runs on Android 9 out of the box with Android TV Play Store. The box will also receive OTA Updates. The box also comes with dual-band Wi-Fi and can be used for video conferencing if you connect a webcam to it. It also supports Bluetooth 5.0.

The box comes with Amkette's Evo Fox Elite Pro Wireless Gamepad. The controller comes with a USB receiver. Speaking of the controller it has a traditional DualShock 4 like layout with the analog stick placement and the D-pad. It has 4 face buttons and also comes with two shoulder buttons and two triggers. The controller has a claimed battery life of 8 hours and is compatible with PC and the PS3. 

The device also comes with a voice-enabled air remote giving you mouse-like functionality. It has a dedicated button to bring up the Google Assistant, a play/pause button. Coming to the games, the Amkette 4K EvoFox GameBox features games like Dead Trigger 2, Unkilled, Asphalt 8, Real Racing, Pac-Man, Contra, GTA and many more. 

In addition to gaming, a user can connect a webcam to the device and use it for video conferencing. Users can also connect a keyboard and mouse and use productivity apps on the Amkette 4K EvoFox GameBox. The device also supports third-party app store. 

The device has a 4K output and also supports 5.1. It can playback h.265 files as well. For connectivity options, the device has an HDMI port, two USB type-A ports one of which is USB 3.0. It also has a microSD card slot. It supports 4K playback along with support for HDR. 

Amkette 4K EvoFox GameBox price

The Amkette 4K EvoFox GameBox is priced at Rs 9,999 and comes with the Air mouse remote and gamepad in the box. The EvoFox GameBox is available on Flipkart and Amkette's own website. For one week starting today, the EvoFox GameBox will be available at an introductory price of Rs 8,999.

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Microsoft shutting down Minecraft Earth on June 30

Microsoft has announced that it will end support for its AR game for mobile, Minecraft Earth, in June this year. The developers have released the final build of the game, which has been designed to help gamers make the most of the few months left until the servers and support for the mobile game is shut down. 

To recall, Microsoft launched Minecraft Earth to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Minecraft. The game was launched on mobile devices and used Augmented Reality to project Minecraft blocks in the real world, thereby letting players build around them.

The company said in a blog post, "we want to take a moment to thank all of the players and creators that are bringing new adventures, mobs, and free in-game items for the community to enjoy while we finalize our timeline for sunsetting the game. Your feedback and creations brought this game to an entirely different level, from the regular build challenges you absolutely smashed to the incredible builds you shared on social media. We’re eternally grateful for the amazing talent in the Minecraft community. This was not an easy decision, and we’re doing everything we can to make sure you get the most out of Minecraft Earth before it sunsets."

Final Build Patch Notes

As part of the Final Build’s plan to speed things up, the time requirements for crafting and smelting have been reduced. Further, all real-money transitions have been removed completely while ruby costs have been “drastically” reduced. Further, all unused crafting and smelting boosts will be replaced with radius boosts of the same level. As an added bonus, all players who log in before June 30 will receive a set of character creator items. Finally, all completed but unreleased content in the developer’s pipeline will be released. 

Last Date for Support

Microsoft says that it will discontinue all content and service support for the game on June 30. This includes all development and after that, users will be unable to download and play Minecraft Earth anymore. On July 1, it will delete any player data unreleased to Character Creation and Minecoin entitlements. 

All players with paid ruby balances will be granted Minecoins, which can then be used on the Minecraft Marketplace to purchase skin and texture packs, maps, and even minigames. Further, if a player ever made an in-game purchase, they will receive a free copy of the bedrock version of Minecraft. 

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CES 2021: LG Gram and Gram 2-in-1 with Intel EVO certification announced

The Consumer Electronics Show, which typically takes place in Las Vegas, is now completely virtual for 2021 and kicking the show off is LG, which has announced a refresh to the LG Gram series of laptops. Besides revamping the three existing models, LG has also introduced the 2-in-1 versions of the laptops.

LG Gram Features and Specifications

The refreshed LG Gram now comes in 14-inch, 16-inch and a 17-inch chassis. The older 15-inch model is now 16-inches due to the fact that LG has now adopted the 16:10 aspect ratio which is fast gaining popularity. The 14-inch LG Gram’s display has a resolution of 1920x1200 while the other two larger laptops come with a resolution of 2560x1600. LG claims all three displays will cover 99 percent of the DCI-P3 colour space. Living up to its name, the 14-inch LG Gram weighs 999 grams, 1 gram shy of a kilo. The 16-inch LG Gram tips the scale at 1190 grams with the largest 17-inch variant weighing 1350 grams. All three variants will be powered by Intel’s 11th generation processors with Xe graphics and offer support for 8GB and 16GB storage. Storage on all variants will be provided via an m.2 NVMe drive and all laptops will come with USB4/Thunderbolt 4 ports.

LG Gram 2-in-1 Features and Specifications

LG has also announced two 2-in-1 variants of the Gram laptops, in on 14-inch and the other 16-inch form-factors. In terms of hardware, these laptops will also be powered by Intel’s 11th generation processors with Xe graphics. The 2-in-1 form factor is much heavier in comparison to the normal counterpart, with the 14-inch variant weighing 1250 grams and the 16-inch variant tipping the scales at 1480 grams. These two laptops also come with the same 16:10 aspect ratio displays, with the 14-inch model having an FHD+ resolution while the larger 16-inch variant has a QHD+ panel. Interestingly, the LG Gram 2-in-1 display is protected by Gorilla Glass 6. The convertible versions of the Gram also support stylus input thanks to Wacom AES 2.0.

All five laptops introduced today come with the Intel Evo certification, which means the laptops will support fast charging, instant wake, lightning-fast connectivity thanks to Wi-Fi 6 and more. As of now, there’s no price or price revealed by LG for the new laptops. LG does sell the LG Gram laptops in India, although they're not the ones announced at CES.

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Vaio E15 thin and light laptop teased on Flipkart ahead of January 15 India launch

Vaio is set to make a comeback to the Indian market after exiting with Sony back in 2014. However, this time Vaio is backed by Nexstgo which also makes a range of laptops under its Avita series. Ahead of its launch, the company has started teasing a thin and light laptop on its official website, social media channels and on Flipkart where it is revealed to be the Vaio E15.

#ExperienceTheFuture of personal computing on 15 th of January from 1PM onwards. Stay tuned to this space for more details. . #VAIO #VAIOIndia #newlaunch #laptop #laptoplifestyle #laptopmurah pic.twitter.com/nmJ7i87o9r

— VAIO India (@VAIOInd) January 4, 2021

After spinning-off from Sony, in 2018 Nexstgo picked up the license to oversee Vaio Corporation’s business in Asia. The Vaio laptops are being manufactured by Nexstgo and the company also sells its Avita range of laptops in India. The company has released a new teaser that says the upcoming laptop is “lighter than your past”, hinting at a thin-and-light form-factor. The Vaio E

The company has also hinted that it is planning to launch multiple laptops in India, however, more details on those laptops are currently under wraps. A listing for the upcoming Vaio laptops has also gone live on Flipkart with the same teaser. Additionally, Flipkart is also hosting a contest where 2021participants can win 100 SuperCoins each. 

The contest has revealed that the company could launch the Vaio E15 in India on January 15. The E15 is expected to be a thin and light offering with premium design, SSD storage, 15-inch Full HD IPS display, slim bezels and more. The laptop will also come with a slew of I/O ports including USB 3.1 Type-A, Type-C, HDMI and microSD slot.

Vaio E15 thin and light laptop teased on Flipkart

“Introducing finest-quality laptops in India, the brand focuses on reclaiming its space in the market while having an unrivalled demand by the customers. We are all set to present futuristic laptop range to the country’s burgeoning tech-enthusiasts and young business professionals. We are looking forward to becoming the top choice for laptop buyers across the country,” said Seema Bhatnagar, Regional Business Director, South Asia, VAIO.

Vaio is planning its comeback at a time when most people remain in homes and working from home has become a norm now. This has led to a surge in demand for fast and durable laptops and PCs. It remains to be seen how Vaio positions itself in a price-sensitive market with so many players like Xiaomi, Lenovo, Acer, MSI and more.

 

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Would you like PS5 DualSense features on the Xbox Series X controller

The next generation of consoles are here with the Xbox Series X and S already launched in India and the PS5 going up for pre-order on January 12. One of the highlighting features of the PS5 is the DualSense Controller, which has haptic feedback and adaptive triggers which enhance the gaming experience. The Xbox Series X/S controller, on the other hand, is almost identical to the Xbox One controller with the addition of a share button, slightly redesigned ergonomics and textured triggers. 

It looks like Microsoft is contemplating adding adaptive triggers-like functionality to its controllers. A survey was sent out by Microsoft asking Xbox Series X/S owners a bunch of questions about the new consoles. The survey had the standard “how satisfied are you with your console” type questions but the question that caught TechRadar's eye was whether users are “aware of features on PlayStation controllers” and if they wish those features were on Xbox controllers.

If Microsoft is surveying its users about features of a competitive device, it is possible that the company is contemplating implementing those features in its controller. Microsoft is no stranger to updating their controllers during the lifecycle of the console. With the Xbox One, Microsoft released a redesigned controller that brought Bluetooth connectivity for PC use without a dongle, along with support for a headphones jack, something that was widely appreciated on the PS4’s DualShock 4 controller. With the Xbox Series X/S controller, we’ve seen the addition of a share button, something Sony introduced with the DS4. 

In our review of the PS5, we praised the adaptive triggers on the DualSense as they add to the immersion by creating tension based on the activity you are undertaking. It would be interesting to see how Microsoft decides to implement the technology or possibly improve upon it in some way. The DualSense controller also comes with a built-in mic, making dictation and chats easier for when your headset is out of reach.

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