Thursday, December 8, 2016

Google, Samsung, Oculus, HTC, Sony partner to create a Global VR Association

By tech2 News Staff / 08 Dec 2016 , 18:04

Virtual reality has seen a lot of development this year and many tech companies have come out with their own VR headsets as well. But as it stands, the VR headsets and VR roadmaps seem to be going their own paths and there isn’t any synergy so to speak. In order to stop that, top companies have decided to come together.

Google, HTC, Oculus, Samsung, Sony and Acer have come together in a partnership to create the Global Virtual Reality Association (GVRA) which aims to ‘unlock and maximise VR’s potential’.

This seems to be a logical step, as the current ecosystems are working in silos. For instance, the games on the Oculus store will not play on the Vive or PS VR or the sensors on the Vive are only unique to the Vive headset and will not work with anything else. Similarly Sony’s PS VR requires the PS 4 and its own sensor.

According to the press release shared by the association, “The Global Virtual Reality Association (GVRA) will develop and share best practices for industry and foster dialogue between public and private stakeholders around the world.”

The association aims to promote responsible development and adoption of VR on a global scale. The members are expected to share best practices, conduct research and bring the VR community on the same page.

“The GVRA is a necessary first step toward ensuring great VR experiences for everyone, through collaborating on research and sharing best practices as the field grows and evolves. We look forward to working with our industry colleagues,” said Google’s director of immersive design Jon Wiley.

Jordan McCollum, the general counsel for Oculus at Facebook said, “We’re still very much in the early stages of VR, so it’s critical that industry leaders work together to create and share ideas on how we can safely build this industry. I’m looking forward to working with other hardware makers to proactively address the challenges we need solve to make VR a success over the long term.”

Bluetooth 5 specifications are finally here; 2x speed and 4x range and its flexible

By tech2 News Staff / 08 Dec 2016 , 17:17

After unveiling the first specifications back in June, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) have finally revealed the final Bluetooth version 5 specification. What this means is that device manufacturers around the world can now use the standard specification and begin adding support for Bluetooth 5 in their respective devices.

So what’s new? Well, there’s plenty! Bluetooth 5 packs in twice the bandwidth and also four times the range. It now also features eight times the broadcasting capacity as compared to Bluetooth 4.2 which is currently available on recently launched Android devices. What this means is that Bluetooth 5 can now transfer at 2Mbps instead of the usual 1Mbps.

What is most impressive about Bluetooth 5 is that the bandwidth can be adjusted. According the SIG website, the new spec is flexible and developers and device makers can tweak the same in their offerings depending on what is more important for them, range, or bandwidth.

Bluetooth 5 also supports larger data packets and now works with 255-octet packages instead of the older 31-octet ones. What this also translates to is the efficient use of the 2.4GHz band, meaning that there is less time spent tapping into the band to complete tasks, making the new spec more efficient and battery-conscious when it comes to devices.

So what if you are stuck with an older version of Bluetooth? Well, the new Bluetooth v5 is backwards compatible with devices supporting Bluetooth v4.0 LE and for basic operations up to v1.1 (if you happen have these around). Devices sporting the v5 spec should begin showing up in devices starting 2017.

Telegram adds pinned chats, IFTTT integration and more Android-oriented features

By tech2 News Staff / 08 Dec 2016 , 13:10

Telegram 3.15 update has just landed, and it allows users to keep track of important conversations, as well as IFTTT integration with over 360 services.

The pinned chat feature allows users to select up to five important conversations, and have them appear in a predictable order on top of the chat window. This means that the spammy group with hundreds of members will not hide the one important message from your mom or your boss. One of the reasons Telegram integrated pinned chats is to allow professional teams to keep track of work related conversations. Apart from five regular chats, five secret chats can be pinned to the top as well.

If this then that (IFTTT) allows users to connect one service to another, opening up a wide range of functionalities. There is now an IFTTT bot for Telegram, that can be summoned to integrate conversational commands to over 360 services. Telegram is one of the few services that allows for two way integration, so you can pull in updates, as well as push out commands. The IFTTT bot can be invoked in a group conversation as well.

Twitter, Instagram, Gmail, Spotify, DropBox and Google Drive are some of the applets available for use through Telegram. Home automation capabilities are also included with support for Hue bulbs by Phillips, and devices by LIFX or Nest. Telegram can notify you whenever you are mentioned on Twitter, or an important email lands in your inbox. You can automatically send an image to a group every time you post on Instagram. Tracks from your Spotify playlist can be shared in groups or individual chats. You can set up your Telegram channel to automatically tweet out new posts.

Following allegations by Android users that Telegram favors iOS, Telegram added a slew of Android oriented features and performance optimisations in the 3.14 update. For the 3.15 update, there are more features meant just for Android users. Photos can now be edited to rotate to any number of degrees, allowing users to straighten their images before sharing on the Telegram app.

A picture-in-picture mode for Vimeo and YouTube videos allows users to continue chatting even when watching a video. The control for the picture in picture mode is available in the newer, sleeker integrated video player. While Telegram does not allow users to forward messages from secret chats, it is now possible to forward content and chat from other conversations into secret chats.

At least one more update is expected to land before the end of the year.

Apple iPhone 8: Rumours and what we know so far

By tech2 News Staff / 08 Dec 2016 , 12:05

The iPhone 7 and the 7 Plus made their debut just a few months back. Knowing the popularity of the smartphone, it doesn’t come as a surprise that speculations and rumoursfor the new iPhone have already begun. However the coming year will be quite important for the smartphone maker as 2017 marks the tenth anniversary of the iPhone.

According to a report, the company is testing more than 10 different prototypes for its next big smartphone. One of the rumoured prototypes that is being tested is allegedly using an OLED display without any bezels and could be curved like Samsung’s Galaxy S7 Edge. It could also feature wireless charging, a feature that has been long awaited on the smartphone.

Apple has its tick-tock cycle for naming the iPhone, so technically the new iPhone should be called the iPhone 7s and 7s Plus. However, a lot of contradictory reports suggest that Apple could jump it this time and announce the iPhone 8. It could also see a major design update since it will be ten years since the first iPhone was announced by Steve Jobs back in 2007.

New iPhones are usually announced in the first two weeks of September right before the holiday season. While there hasn’t been any hints about Apple breaking the tradition, so we can expect the annoucnement to be anytime during the first two weeks of September next year. It will be an anniversary special though, so Apple could completely choose a different date, maybe even June 29, the same day the first iPhone was released.

In terms of pricing, the iPhone has always been a premium product. Considering the Apple pricing mechanics, the new iPhone could take the pricing of the current generation while the 7 and 7 Plus could see a drop. This means that the pricing for the new iPhones could start at $649.

Sony PlayStation 4 sales crosses the 50mn mark in worldwide sales

By tech2 News Staff / 08 Dec 2016 , 09:27

Sony Corp said on Wednesday sales of its PlayStation 4 video game console had exceeded 50 million units as of 6 December, helped by strong demand during the year-end holiday season.

The PlayStation 4, which went on sale in late 2013, has been Sony’s fastest-selling game console. It released in the US on 15 November 2013 and arrived on Indian shores in January 2014.

According to CNET the worldwide sales numbers includes the original PlayStation 4 model, the recently released slim PS4 variant as well as the new PlayStation 4 Pro.

The slimmer PS4 is said to be more energy-efficient than PS4. It costs around $300, down from $350 for the previous version, and went on sale on 15 September earlier this year. The PlayStation 4 Pro costs around $400 and went on sale on 10 November abroad.

PlayStation 4 Pro offers 4K gaming, displaying hyper-realistic graphics and immersive visuals – as long as it is hooked up to a HDR, or high dynamic range TV.

“We’re truly delighted that the PS4 community continues to flourish since launch three years ago,” said Andrew House, president and global CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, in a press statement. “We will continue to provide the best gaming experiences available as we focus on accelerating our business and expanding the PS4 ecosystem.”

With inputs from Reuters

IBM beta tests AI cyber security services from Watson for 40 global clients

Image Credits: REUTERS

By tech2 News Staff / 08 Dec 2016 , 09:32

IBM announced that more than 40 global clients in industries as varied as financial services, healthcare and education have joined the IBM Watson for Cyber Security beta program. The program uses the Watson AI to provide security services to these companies. Clients include Sun Life Financial, SCANA, California Polytechnic State University and Avnet.

The AI will help to identify and prioritise threats, allowing security analysts to make better and faster decisions. Watson uses machine learning and natural language processing to pull out the relevant information from vast amounts of data. A poll conducted by IBM Institute for Business Value among security professionals shows that more than sixty percent believe that emerging cognitive technologies will have an important role to play in combating cyber crime.

Sandy Bird, Chief Technology Officer, IBM Security, says “Customers are in the early stages of implementing cognitive security technologies. Our research suggests this adoption will increase three fold over the next three years, as tools like Watson for Cyber Security mature and become pervasive in security operations centers. Currently, only seven percent of security professionals claim to be using cognitive solutions.”

IBM Watson can determine if a security event or offence matches with the behavior of any known malware or cybercrime campaign. If so, then Watson can pull the relevant background information, and known approaches for tackling the malware or attack. IBM Watson also helps at identifying suspicious behavior, by providing contextual information about the behavior which will allow a security analyst to better decide if the suspect activity is indeed malicious.

IBM security monitors over thirty five billion security events every day, in more than a hundred and thirty countries, and IBM owns over three thousand security related patents.

Tesla recalls 7,000 charging adapters to address overheating issue

Image Credit: REUTERS

By tech2 News Staff / 07 Dec 2016 , 15:48

Electric car maker Tesla has sent for a recall of about 7,000 adapters that are used for charging its products. The announcement comes after two chargers overheated and melted the plastic on the plugs. No other damage has been reported and Tesla has notified U.S. regulators of its voluntary recall.

According to Bloomberg, two customers reported the overheating issue in November. The accessories used were apparently not made by Tesla but manufactured by an outside supplier and haven’t been sold for at least six months. The adapter type in question is the NEMA 14-30 which are sometimes used to charge Tesla vehicles via clothes-dryer appliance outlets in U.S. homes. International customers will not be affected and the faulty chargers will be replaced in the next few weeks.

The company is also replacing the NEMA 10-30 and 6-50 adapters. These will be replaced in about three months. There hasn’t been any reports of overheating or any other fault in the above mentioned adapters, but it seems that Tesla doesn’t want to take any chances.

Here is what Tesla had to say:

In November 2016, we learned about two customers whose NEMA 14-30 charging adapters overheated. These are the only two such incidents that we know of anywhere in the world and neither resulted in any injuries or property damage. However, out of an abundance of caution, we’re replacing NEMA 14-30, 10-30 and 6-50 adapters that were made years ago by our original supplier.

If you have one of these NEMA 14-30 adapters and regularly use it, you will receive a replacement from us within the next couple of weeks. Until then, we ask that you stop using your current adapter, and that you instead charge your car in a different way, such as with a Tesla Wall Connector or NEMA 14-50 adapter (if you have one), or by Supercharging.

Although there have been no incidents with NEMA 10-30 or 6-50 adapters, they have some common elements with the NEMA 14-30, so we will be replacing those as well. These replacements will take about three months to develop and manufacture. In the meantime, since none of these adapters has ever overheated, you can continue to use them if you do not have another way to charge your car.

Huawei launches Enjoy 6S with Snapdragon 435 and 3GB RAM for $232

Image Credit: GSMArena

By tech2 News Staff / 07 Dec 2016 , 15:09

Huawei has launched the Enjoy 6S, successor to the recently launched Enjoy 6 in China today. The new smartphone continues to target mid-budget or low-budget consumers who don’t want to spend more money on they smartphone purchases.

The new smartphone is developed in partnership with China Mobile, and not much has changed regarding design except minor changes like the position of LED flash and overall 0.3mm slimmer housing than Enjoy 6.

According to the Huawei, Enjoy 6S packs an Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 chipset clocked at 1.4GHz along with 3GB RAM. 6S comes with 5-inch HD IPS LCD screen powered by a 3,020mAh battery. The smartphone packs a 13MP camera module with a f/2.2 aperture on the back and a 5MP camera module on the front.

Huawei has doubled the internal storage from 16GB in Enjoy 6 to 32GB in Enjoy 6S along with the similar connectivity features. The connectivity features include LTE-enabled Dual SIM slot, Bluetooth v4.0, GPS, FM Radio, microUSB v2.0, Wi-fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot and 3.5mm headphone jack.

The smartphone packs fingerprint, accelerometer, proximity sensor and compass as reported by GSMArena. Enjoy 6S will be available in white, gold and silver variants for approximately $232. There is no information on the availability of the device outside Chinese market.

Paytm launches payment method for people without internet

Image Credit: Paytm

By tech2 News Staff / 07 Dec 2016 , 13:37

Paytm has announced the launch of a new toll-free number 180018001234 to help customers use Paytm without an internet connection. This is particularly important for the times when internet connectivity is patchy, and continued disconnections would stop you from using the Paytm app. Both users, as well as merchants, can now use the feature just by calling the toll-free number to pay and receive money. The facility can be used to recharge their mobiles which will empower millions of non-smartphone users across India.

To use this facility, the users need to be registered with Paytm with their mobile numbers and have a four digit Paytm PIN just like any ATM PIN. The users need to call the number and enter the contact number of the recipient and enter Paytm PIN to transfer the money. Paytm is already offering its Digital cash services for users to pay in Taxis, Autos, Petrol Pumps, grocery shops, restaurants, multiplex, parking, pharmacies, hospitals, Kirana stores, etc.

“We are committed to enabling more and more Indians to be able to transact digitally. The launch of our new toll-free payment number is another significant step in that direction. This will allow even non-smartphone users across India go cashless,” added Nitin Mishra, Senior Vice President for Paytm.