Lenovo Z2 Plus Launched In India: Specification, Price & Offers

The much awaited Lenovo Z2 Plus has finally been launched and is now available in India. Lenovo Z2 Plus goes on sale September 26 and will be an Amazon exclusive starting at Rs 17,999. Lenovo Z2 Plus has been re-branded from ‘Zuk 2’ that was announced earlier this year. The VoLTE smartphone comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset and claims to be the cheapest device to be running on it.

Running Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow with the company's own skin atop, the Z2 Plus comes with the Google Now Launcher preloaded. The Lenovo smartphone also comes preloaded with the company's new U-Health app that can track data for steps, distance, running, and other physical activities. The Z2 Plus is a dual-SIM (4G+3G) smartphone that supports Nano-SIM cards. It sports a 5-inch full-HD (1080x1920 pixels) display made by Sharp, with a pixel density of 441ppi.

It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 SoC coupled with either 3GB or 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM. As we mentioned there are two built-in storage variants, 32GB and 64GB, and the storage cannot be expanded. It sports a 13-megapixel rear camera with PDAF, LED flash, and electronic image stabilization (EIS). It bears an 8-megapixel front-facing camera.

The Lenovo Z2 Plus is powered by a 3500mAh battery that also features an intelligent charge cut-off feature to ensure the battery does not overcharge. Connectivity options on board include Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, and 4G.

According to Lenovo, the fingerprint scanner on the phone will be able to detect and unlock wet and oily fingers as well. The sensor is said to be capable of detecting irregularities like wounds, dry skin, skin peel and more.

Offers:
The smartphone will come with a premium Chrono Case Accessory with 5 different Chrono faces. The Matte Black Stealth Case worth Rs 699 will be bundled with the phone. Lenovo has some offers available on the smartphone. First up. there’s Rs 15,000 Yatra eCash from Yatra.com The offer is valid till October 3. There’s also a Kindle Offer, where users who download and sign up for the Kindle app will get 80 per cent off on Kindle eBooks, up to a maximum of Rs 500. The offer is valid till October 3 as well.

There’s also a App Cashback offer with 15 lucky customers getting 100 per cent cashback if they buy the phone from Amazon App. There’s also a 5 per cent additional cash back on those who use HDFC Debit cards. On the data side, there’s a Vodafone offer with 9GB 4G/3G data which is given when the user recharges with 1GB or above Pack on the phone. Users who buy the phone will get an activation link for this offer.

The U-Touch 2.0 sensor on the device is designed to let a user give up to seven different commands to the device. Single touch on the sensor will take the user back, long touch will open the notification Center, double touch will work as an app switcher, swiping left/right will show recent apps, single press will take the user back home, and a long press will open Google Now.

Other sensors on the phone include a 3-axis gyro sensor, a 3-axis acceleration sensor, a 3-axis electronic compass sensor, proximity sensor and a distance measuring pedometer. Coupled with the U-Health app, the phone will be able to track a users steps, distance, calories and also generate health alerts.

Cheers!!!

Now Pay Highway Tolls via Paytm

India's largest mobile wallet, Paytm has partnered with the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to enable cashless transaction on highway tolls across the country. With its extremely vast network of roads, India has a large number of toll booths spread across the country. While crossing these booths, users are required to pay taxes that may range around a few hundreds of rupees. Paytm is now reducing hassles through its collaboration with the NHAI that will take these transactions cashless as well.

The tag has RFID technology that will allow the cashless toll fee using Paytm wallet. In April, NHAI had introduced FASTag, a device that uses radio frequency identification technology for making toll payments directly from a prepaid account linked to it.

The device, fixed to the windscreen of vehicles, enables people to drive through toll plazas. The Paytm FASTag will allow commuters to pass through 350 toll plazas dotting 55,000 km of roads without having to stop.

FASTag has a validity of five years. A commuter who purchases a FASTag needs to top-up the credit in it as per requirement. Paytm aims to collect over Rs 1,800 crore in toll charges in the coming months, the company said.

Speaking on the topic, Kiran Vasireddy, Sr. Vice President – Paytm said,

Cash slows down traffic at important toll plazas as attendants and motorists are left grappling with the hassles of dealing in loose change. The roll-out of Paytm-enabled FASTag will come as a relief to both commuters and toll plaza attendants and help towards the national cause of saving fuel.

With this move, Paytm is inching closer to its vision of making cashless transactions a way of life across India. This will propel India towards becoming a cashless economy in the truest sense of the word, he added.

Meanwhile, with this the platform’s roster now includes highway tolls, petrol pumps, grocery outlets, restaurants and coffee shops, multiplexes, local tea or vegetable vendors and even the newspaper vendors as those accepting cashless payments. And lets not forget the last collaboration between paytm and the Indian railways, which is already letting you book tickets using the platform.

Cheers!!!

Why You Should Install Allo: Features You Won't Find In Any Other Chat App

We all know that Allo was launched recently and many  of the user installed it. Even i tried installing it and found it quite interesting. Though it has not reached that hype which WhatsApp has already created but this  is the just the starting and you never know whats next. There are other messaging app like Facebook which eats most my battery so i almost avoid using it. Those who are using WhatsApp and using it daily, they will not think of installing it but they will surely give it a try. But what is it that so many people are still installing it and are happy more than using WhatsApp.

To tell you frankly, Allo is no where near WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger. It lacks many creativity approach WhatsApp and even not have as many user as Facebook and might not get as many daily active users as Facebook. But i still believe that Google will come and take it fast. There are other apps also, but we will find it now, what Allo has that is missing from WhatsApp:

1. Google Assistant:
When you start using Allo after all the verification process is complete, you are welcomed by 3 options out of which one is Google Assistant. Allo comes with Google Assistant integration, incorporating the search functionality into the app. Google’s virtual assistant, can pull out information from the web and also embed YouTube videos within a chat. Within messages, users can also call their friends using the Assistant. Google Assistant is a chatbot which will help you with queries like movies playing in theaters near you and restaurants serving Chinese food.

Tap the ‘@’ symbol and select Google Assistant from the list in any chat, individual or group. You can even add your favorite sports team and the AI will show you upcoming matches or the latest scores. The Assistant will also answer the questions you throw at it, although its scope seems pretty limited as of now.

2. Smart/Predictive Replies:
The app is equipped with a 'Smart Reply' feature, earlier seen in the Inbox by Gmail app. It suggests automatic replies to save a user’s time. It uses artificial intelligence to read text and replying patterns of users, and then comes up with relevant suggestions.

It suggests automatic replies to save a user’s time. It uses artificial intelligence to read text and replying patterns of users, and then comes up with relevant suggestions.Initially suggestions may be simple and basic, but with usage it picks up users' idioms to offer quirky replies. So, whether you say ‘hahaha’ or ‘Lol’, the Smart Reply with adjust to your style of communication.

3. Incognito Mode:
Privacy is one a major concern when it comes to digital communication. Google has introduced an Incognito mode in Allo to address this concern. All your chats will be stored on Google’s servers, unless you delete them from your device. But, there is an option to enable end-to-encryption. Google Allo calls this ‘Incognito’ mode, where messages are not only encrypted but can also self-destruct.

It’s based on the company’s open signal protocol and is designed to offer a seamless and secure chatting experience. If a user receives a message while in Incognito mode, its contents on the lockscreen are invisible, making it completely private and secure. You can choose the duration of self-destruction from the timer icon on the top. Once sent, you can even change the duration to a different one.

4. Image recognition
Allo comes with Google's image recognition software for intelligent replies. This can easily spot differences, for instance between a dog and a baby, and then suggest an apt response for the same

5. Gmail account sync
Google Allo takes your phone number for primary identification, but if required then your Google account can also be synced with the app. This will further enable you to get all important updates. For example, if you have a flight to catch, then the app will notify you about the same in advance.

6. Bigger font size:
Google has also introduced a better way for users to express themselves in conversations by allowing user to change the size of the text before you send it. To do that, simply long-press the arrow (send) icon and then adjust the slider up or down to make the text larger or smaller, respectively. The same trick works with Emojis too.

This action changes the size of the entire text but formatting options (i.e. bold, italics) for individual words, like the ones available on WhatsApp and Telegram, aren’t yet available on Allo.

7. Contact List:
InWhatsApp, when you click on the chat icon you are directed to Contact list. It will show you all the contacts that you have in your phone, But in case of Allo, you will be displayed only those contacts that you have conversation with or the only contacts who have installed this app too.

In case you entered a name which is not in the list, you will find an 'INVITE' tag at the end of their name by which you will come to know that its not installed in their phone.  Since these users are not on Allo, they will receive an SMS of whatever message you send. Thankfully, those SMS’ will be sent over data/Wi-Fi and hence won’t cost you extra, at least here in India. Also, you won’t be able to see these SMS’ in your standard messaging app, they will only be visible on Allo.

8. Get more stickers and emojis:
WhatsApp has his own set of emojis and smileys. You will find the same in Allo but they are not the only thing you will have. Click on the '+' icon and you will find a sticker like icon. Click on it. Some of the default stickers will be displayed and you can even download more. This reminded me of another messaging app, Hike where there are tons of stickers based on different category.

These are animated stickers, but not GIFs. Currently, there is no support for GIFs on Allo.

9. Doodling the Image:
When you send an image in Allo, you can personalize it with some doodle. You can either doodle on images from your existing media or click one instantly and then start doodling. The customization set may be as extensive as the ones found on Snapchat etc., but for basic use it’s good.

This way Allo can be useful to any users. If you find any of the above point interesting please comment and also let me know if any more feature needs to be added in the list.

Cheers!!!

Nokia 216 Dual SIM With Front Facing Flash Camera Launched in India at 2,495

If youa re thinking of buying a smartphone, you will be get hundred of options that will definately make you confuse. I still remember the days when Nokia's phone were the best in the market. When it comes to battery lasting feature there were no phones that can beat Nokia. Today's when almost 95% of mobile users who are using touchscreens smartphone, Nokia, now owned by Microsoft, came up with a smartphone having a keypad. Microsoft on Tuesday launched the Nokia 216 Dual SIM in India at a price of Rs. 2,495. The feature phone will be available in the country from October 24.

The 'Nokia 216' could attract the entry level segment customers who are not very tech-savvy about their gadgets buys. The high end smartphone users could also use the device as a backup when their smartphone's battery die down.

Nokia 216 Dual SIM has a 2.4-inch QVGA display (240×320 pixels). It sports a VGA camera both at the front and the back. The rear camera LED flash doubles as a built-in torchlight.The smartphone is backed by a 1,020 mAh battery which promises a talktime of up to 18 hours and standby time of up to 19 days. Nokia 216 Dual SIM runs Nokia Series 30+ and comes with a memory card support for up to 32GB memory.

Nokia 216 Dual SIM users can download one free Gameloft game every month for a year. Nokia 216 Dual SIM comes with FM Radio, MP3 and video player. The devices can store up to 2,000 contacts. Nokia 216 Dual SIM is built of polycarbonate. The dimensions of the smartphone are 118.0×50.02×13.5mm. It weighs 83 gms.

The mobile phone is available in black, grey and blue, and is crafted with polycarbonate shell that is built to last, Microsoft said, adding that it has an "outstanding" battery life that will keep users connected for longer.

Nokia 216 Specs & features:

• Single-Sim / Dual-Sim
• 118 x 50 x 13.5 mm
• 82.6 g
• 2.5G
• Dual SIM
• 2.4 inch, 240 x 320 resolution, LCD display
• Front Camera with flash
• Rear camera, CMOS sensor, LED Flash
• 1020mAh Battery
• 16 MB RAM
• 16 MB Internal Storage
• SD Card support up to 64 GB
• Glance Screen
• Black, white, Cyan

Cheers!!!

Apple Partners with Flipkart to Sell iPhone 7 Online in India

Though there are some issues in the new iPhone 7 ans iPhone 7 Plus. But it is still attracting customer in India. Therefore, to attract more customer Apple has partnered with e-commerce website Flipkart. But you might not be knowing that Infibeam is also the authorized online re-seller which sells the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

The new tie-up with Flipkart will mean the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus will be available at the official launch price at the online retailer. The online retail partnership means Flipkart will source iPhones directly from Apple instead of from third-party suppliers, which it has relied on in the past. The deal will ensure Flipkart earns a higher margin on every sale, but likely fewer discounts for customers.

Apple does not yet have a license to sell products directly to consumers in India, which has led to buyers going through third-party retail stores to get hold of the company's flagship phones. Traditionally, Flipkart has also used third parties to sell Apple products through its online marketplace, often with heavy discounts in order to compete with offerings from rival e-commerce giants like Amazon India and Paytm. Other retailers such as Snapdeal, Amazon India, and Paytm among others sell the units which they source from Apple partners. These units still carry Apple warranty, so for end users this is unlikely to be a big change. The Flipkart listing for upcoming iPhone 7 series clearly lists other older iPhone models as well, so the partnership is for more than just the newest iPhone units.

Despite the potential loss of some customers looking for discounted smartphones, the new partnership guarantees Flipkart a robust supply chain and better marketing support from Apple. It should also help Apple retain more control over pricing, thereby avoiding a price war in India similar to the one that took place in 2015.

Apple is still a minor player in the Indian smartphone market, dwarfed by companies like Samsung and Micromax. The overriding issue has been price — while most phones sold in India cost $150 or less, the iPhone 7 will start at $900, putting it well out of range of the average Indian. To date Apple has relied on older iPhones to keep up sales, even offering models that have long since vanished from other countries.

The Apple iPhone 7 and 7 Plus will be available in India from October 7. The company has already revealed the prices of all the variants of the new phone. The iPhone 7 will start at Rs. 60,000, while the iPhone 7 Plus starts at Rs. 72,000. Further, Apple also doubled the storage on the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. Prices for the 32GB iPhone 6s now starts at Rs. 50,000, while the iPhone 6s Plus starts at Rs. 60,000.

Cheers!!!

WhatsApp Competitor "Allo" Launched by Google With Smart Reply & Google Assistant

WhatsApp is one of the mostly  used messaging app that people are using in the world. There are many such apps available that people uses daily. The list of the app contains; ubiquitous WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, to Telegram, Hike, Hangouts and many more such as Viber and WeChat to name just a couple. To add one more in the list, Google has launched a messaging app called Allo with Smart Reply and Google Assistant.

Allo is the part of communication platform made in conjunction with Google Duo. Duo was released some time back by the company, and it focused on video whereas Google Allo is focused on text communication along with sending media such as photos, audio messages, stickers and locations.

You can download Allo from Google Play and Apple’s App Store. Keep in mind, however, that both Smart Reply and Google Assistant are English-only for now, with “more languages coming soon.” Messages are not encrypted end-to-end by default – unlike on WhatsApp, which it will compete with – but can be switched to an incognito mode to do so and set how long they exist before they’re deleted.

Incognito mode features auto-destruct messages just like Snapchat which expire after a fixed amount of time depending on the settings. Infact, you can turn Google Allo into an almost functioning Snapchat clone except Stories or ability to check who saw your stories.

The interface is pretty bare bones but quite functional for a messaging app. When you launch the app for the first time, the app asks you to verify your mobile number similar to how things work on Google Duo. The SMS verification servers seem to be in place for Allo verification. After the verification, the app asks you to set a profile picture and name.

Google’s “smart reply”, first introduced with its Inbox mail app, will also feature, predicting responses to the messages and content received. While text-based prediction is not uncommon, Google is going one-stage further and bringing its image recognition from its Photos service, providing smart replies when sent images of pets or holiday pictures.

Allo’s big new feature though is Google’s Assistant, represented as an @google chatbot. You can have one-on-one conversations with it, asking for restaurant recommendations, navigation instructions, find photos, get the weather, save information or even command the smartphone to do things on Android. Those interactions can also be made in group chat, by dragging the Google Assistant into the conversation for instant recommendations or information.

There is nothing new when you dive in the Profile section or the General settings menu, and there are just small things like controlling the notifications, sounds, vibration and to download the media when you receive it. There is no status updates or message that you can set for people in your contact list to read.

I will also be installing it. Request you to please give your comments on what you feels about this app. Do you think that this app will be a tough competition to WhatsApp? Your comment is very valuable to me. So please comment.

Download Allo for Android

Download Allo for iOS

Cheers!!!