HP & Bang & Olufsen Bring Superior Sound Technology to New Laptops

HP has unveiled new laptops, primarily aimed at gaming and general entertainment consumption. The company has teamed up with Bang & Olufsen to bring the best in sound technology to HP’s new range of laptops. HP brings out Omen, a 15.6-inch gaming equipped with the GeForce GTX 960M graphics card and an Intel Core i7 quad-core processor. The new HP Pavilion laptops are equipped with similar hardware as the Omen, but without the high-end laptop graphics card. They are equipped with Intel’s new fifth-generation Core processors.

HP Omen Gaming Notebook comes with Bang & Olufsen audio experience, designed specifically for hardcore gamers. The Omen boasts a 15.6-inch full HD display with a resolution capability of 1,920x1,080 pixels and constructed out of premium aluminium finish.

Omen comes packed with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M 4GB gaming graphics and an Intel Core i7 Quad Core processor. It also features a customisable back-lit keyboard with six programmable function keys, weighing just 2.12kg and is only 19.9mm thick.

On the other hand, Pavilion 15 Notebook comes with a refined Uni-body design with premium metal-like finish on the outside and superior gradient dual tone finish inside. These notebooks are also equipped with full HD screen (1,920X1,080 pixels) and packs the latest fifth generation Intel Core processors.

On the launch, HP and Bang & Olufsen has announced a collaboration that brings the globally recognised sound of Bang & Olufsen and B&O PLAY to HP's new devices.

"By introducing new range of notebooks with Bang and Olufsen, HP is looking to blend high end technology seamlessly into the lifestyle of the new age consumer enabling the consumers enjoy rich and immersive audio experience," said Ketan Patel, director personal systems, Printing and Personal Systems, HP India. "We are thrilled to work with Bang & Olufsen to create exceptional sound experiences for customers through HP Notebooks."

The notebooks also feature an audio island that isolates the sensitive audio circuits from other signals on the motherboard. The headphone jack limits the amount of metal parts to reduce ground noise to help further perfect the audio experience on the devices.

HP Omen is available in India at a price of ₹1,59,990, while the HP Pavilion 15 Notebook is priced at ₹44,490.  

Private Preview of Microsoft Cloud Services from India Datacenters in July 2015

Customers will be able to participate in the private preview of Microsoft Azure from India datacenters in July 2015, which is a key component of our Microsoft Cloud services.  This will give them a head-start to run trials of their apps on Microsoft Azure from local infrastructure.  With these hyper-scale datacenters, Microsoft will offer enterprise-grade cloud services from local datacenters to customers of all sizes and industries including government departments and banking and financial services. Microsoft will launch the commercial cloud services from local datacenters by the end of this year.

In addition to Microsoft Azure and Office 365, Microsoft also announced that Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online will also be available from India datacenters in the first half of 2016.

Speaking with the media in Bangalore today, Scott Guthrie, Executive Vice President, Microsoft Cloud and Enterprise Group, said, “Building an intelligent cloud is a key Microsoft strategy for global markets, including India. We deliver the most open, complete and secure enterprise-grade cloud services.  Services from local datacenters will open infinite computing capacity for Indian government departments, banks, telecom companies and enterprises or all sizes. This will help make Digital India a reality.”

With the availability of Microsoft’s commercial cloud service from local datacenters, public and hybrid cloud adoption will likely accelerate in India. Organizations in the country will benefit from data sovereignty, lower latency and geo redundancy with the availability of local infrastructure.

Microsoft’s cloud services in India have grown over 100 percent in revenue in the past year, and the commitment to offer locally hosted Microsoft Azure, Office 365 and CRM Online will further accelerate this. Microsoft’s locally available cloud services will open opportunities for customers across many different segments and industries including banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) companies, state-owned enterprises and government departments, to now adopt the public cloud. The services offered via the local datacenters will create new avenues for Microsoft India’s 10,000+ partner ecosystem, comprised of hosters, independent software vendors (ISVs), system integrators (SIs) and others.  It can open new possibilities in e-governance, financial inclusion, healthcare and education, and positively impact the lives of a billion people.  

Easy-to-use Android Mobile App Helps Find Nearest Doctors & Hospitals for Check-ups

Medinfi Healthcare Private Limited has announced the launch of its Android mobile application on Google Play Store. Medinfi is an easy-to-use Android mobile application which helps users locate the nearest doctors and hospitals for their every-day check-ups. The application automatically detects the current user location and displays the nearest doctors and hospitals. Apart from General Physicians, users can easily locate Specialist doctors by simply searching for affected body part (e.g. heart) or affected patients (for example childrens). 

While the users can call the doctors and hospitals from the mobile application, Medinfi does not have any revenue tie-ups with either doctors or hospitals and thereby does not book appointments. The company wants to remain a pure-play content platform and would like to continue serving its users with genuine and verified content at all times.

Maria, 27, Software Developer said “I have recently shifted to Bengaluru and wanted to consult a dentist for regular dental check-up. Given my hectic work schedule, I never got time to really explore Malleshwaram area and look for a dentist. That’s when I came to know about Medinfi mobile application through which I easily found information on dental clinics near my home. Finally I am going to make that long pending visit to the dentist next week.”

Currently, the application is available for users in Bengaluru, Delhi, and Mumbai with information on 5000+ verified doctors and hospitals. The company plans to expand to 20 Indian cities by end of this year and hopes to become India’s largest content based healthcare platform by acquiring nearly one million users for its application. Medinfi mobile application has consistently received good feedback from its users and is currently rated 4.7 out of 5 on Google Play Store.

Micromax’s Canvas Knight 2 Launch Set to Disrupt 4G Market in Indian Market

Disrupting the nascent 4G market with the best in class technology, Micromax has announced its endeavor to offer fast 4G LTE connectivity to the Indian consumers. To build on to the leadership position in the Indian smartphone market, the company launched its flagship product Canvas Knight 2, the first in the range of 4G smartphones and showcased its upcoming 4G range. The company has been consistently revolutionizing the 3G market since 2012 with the launch of some compelling affordable smartphones and aims to help the Indian consumers unlock the true potential of 4G with this new launch.

Commenting on the launch, Vineet Taneja, CEO, Micromax Informatics said,“India is at the cusp of digital revolution and we expect 4G technology to push internet usage to an unprecedented level. Consumer demand is constantly shifting towards devices offering multi-tasking capabilities, 24x7 data connectivity with increased video consumption and real-time mobility solutions. Smartphones always lead any such technology shift, much before full scale network rollouts are done by operators. In our estimate, 4G handsets already account for 15% of total smartphone shipments, up from 4% two quarters back. Installed base of 4G handsets is ~5 Mn compared to a 90Mn+ base of 3G smartphones. With the launch of our new device Canvas Knight 2, the first in the 4G range, we are looking at driving the next wave of internet evolution in the country. Over the next few months, we are all set to launch a series of 4G LTE enabled devices across a range of price points each addressing unique needs of the Indian consumer. Our popular series of Canvas Fire, Unite, Nitro will gradually move to 4G offerings. With a comprehensive portfolio of quality 4G LTE enabled devices, we are confident of propelling the next wave of mobile internet ecosystem in the country.”

Surfing on 4G networks is said to be atleast 5 times faster than 3G and enables the consumers to download movies, stream video and music, share photographs, surf internet and achieve much more out of their smartphones with great ease. The Canvas Knight 2 with its superfast 4G internet gives the consumers all the tools right at their fingertips to conquer the world be it your presentations or finding the perfect night stops. Heavy web downloading, hard-core gaming, high-quality premium video viewing without any lag ensures the users are on top of everything.

The device is a performance beast as one can push boundaries with 64-bit performance processing data at the speed of light. Power packed with a 1.5GHz Octa Core processor, the smartphone is perfect for multitasking and efficiently running applications of any kind. Do more things at once on the Canvas Knight 2 with its 2GB RAM that helps you speed things up and lets you access all applications, faster.

Completely dressed to kill, the device is a design marvel with a perfect amalgamation of Glass & Metal which is fortified with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 on both sides. Glass provides the premium & rich look to the product while the metal sandwiched between the glass on both sides makes the device sturdy and strong. Powered with Cirus Logic Wolfson Stereo WM8998, the smartphone promises the best in class experience for music aficionados and delivers clear, room-filling, deep sound.

Running on the latest Android Lollipop 5.0, the new device promises great benefits like optimized battery usage, improved application performance, refreshed notification system etc. to the neo users.  With a 5-inch Amoled HD Screen the device provides a 16.7 million colour depth, the display catches every colour in its brilliant and spectacular form. One can capture all their moments as perfect as they can be with a 13MP AF rear camera powered with Sony IMX214 CMOS sensor and LARGAN 5P lens. Taking selfies on the go is now even more remarkable with a 5MP FF front camera accompanied with Omnivison OV5648 and LARGAN 4P lens.

With 2G/3G/4G support on both dual SIM slots, one can manage personal and work calls with ease, with intelligent dual SIM features and detailed preferred network settings for each card. Nano SIM card slot can be replaced with the memory card to store more pictures, songs, videos etc

 With the best buy price of Rs. 16,299, the Canvas Knight 2 comes with a free 4G SIM and an Airtel 4G Double Data offer which doubles the 4G data amount for any consumer activating the 4G SIM. The device will be available from June 10, 2015 across India.

'Civilian Sector Focus Key for BEL’s Future Growth'

Bharat Electronics Limited, a leading defence PSU has been a major contributor to the three Indian armed forces. But off late, the Navaratna company will focus on the civilian sector for future growth.

Presently with over 80 percent of the projects coming from the defence sector, BEL plans to give equal amount of focus on the civilian sector as well. This was conveyed at the announcement of BEL’s 2014-15 results.

SK Sharma, CMD, BEL Ltd said, “Indigenisation will be its main focus area but it is also eyeing a bigger pie in civilian segment, as capacity enhancement is helping it achieve the targeted growth in the defence sector.”

“Indigenisation continues to be our main focus, we are very much part of the ‘Make in India’ programme," he adds.

Segments like Radar and Missile Systems, Communication and Network Centric Systems, Tank Electronics, Gun Upgrades and Electro-Optic Systems and Electronic Warfare and Avionics Systems will continue to drive BEL’s growth in the coming five years,” remarks Sharma.

Sharing the performance highlights of BEL in 2014-15, he said capacity enhancement and creation of new test facilities is helping the company achieve its targeted growth in the defence sector.

“BEL is also eyeing a bigger pie in the civilian segment and is pursuing business opportunities in the fields of solar, homeland security, smart cards and telecom,” he added.

In the backdrop of increasing competition in the defence business from the private industry, Sharma said BEL was all geared up with strategies and action plans to maintain its technological edge and ensure future growth.

“With its inherent strengths, strong R&D, state-of-the-art infrastructure, competent workforce and diverse product range, BEL intends to retain its leadership position in strategic electronics,” he said.

BEL said the company’s turnover during 2014-15 was Rs. 6,695 crore as compared to Rs. 6,174 crore in the previous fiscal and its Profit After Tax stood at Rs. 1,167 crore as compared to Rs. 932 crore last year.

The company’s order book value as on April 1, 2015 stood at Rs. 21,600 crore as compared to Rs. 23,452 crore on the same date last year; while the expenditure on R&D stood at Rs. 549 crore which is 8.20 per cent of the turnover in 2014-15, compared with Rs. 467 crore which is 7.56 per cent of the turnover in the year—ago period.  

Watch Favorite Hollywood & Bollywood Films for Just Rs 199

HOOQ, a start-up joint venture between Singtel, Sony Pictures Television and Warner Bros., empowers customers to enjoy unlimited online streaming access and an offline viewing option to top Hollywood and Indian movie and television content, via any device including computers, smartphones, tablets and Android set-top boxes. The service is available from June for just 199 Rupees a month. 

HOOQ brings to India the biggest Hollywood catalogue where customers can look forward to more than 5,000 Hollywood movies and television series and TV shows.  This includes titles from Sony, Warner Bros., Disney India, Dreamworks, and Miramax such as Harry Potter, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Pulp Fiction, and TV series such as Nikita, The Shield and Friends. 

In addition to top Hollywood favourites, HOOQ offers customers an extensive range of over 10,000 Indian film and TV favourites.  To deliver this, HOOQ has partnered with the country’s top studios, including YRF, Disney India, Rajshri, Reliance, Shemaroo, Sri Balaji, AP International, Whacked Out Media and over 50 other studios.  

‘We are very excited to bring to Indian consumers the ultimate ad-free video-on-demand service at an amazingly low price.  HOOQ will offer India the largest and best catalogue of Hollywood and Indian content of any service available today,’ said HOOQ Chief Executive Officer, Peter Bithos.  ‘Our ambition is to always bring the best experience with no compromises.  We’ve built our service knowing the constraints and infrastructure issues faced by customers every day.  We have designed our service specifically for the challenges of India and other countries like it.  HOOQ offers features to ensure you enjoy an uninterrupted viewing experience; including a custom setting for your quality preference, a bandwidth indicator to assess your internet connectivity and adaptive streaming to maximise available bandwidth,’ he added.

‘The growing interconnectivity and rapid adoption of smart devices present a great opportunity to enhance the way people live, work and play in Asia.  With HOOQ, we want to revolutionize entertainment for our customers.’ said Samba Natarajan, Singtel CEO, Group Digital Life.  ‘Our unique telco assets and our partnership with Sony Pictures Television and Warner Bros. will position HOOQ to become the largest over-the-top video service in the region.’ 

George Chien, Executive Vice President, Networks at Sony Pictures Television, said: ‘We share the excitement of offering entertainment fans across Asia access to high quality video services directly to their mobile devices.  HOOQ provides a unique combination of Hollywood and local favorites while providing a high-quality viewing experience they’ve come to expect in today’s digital world.’

Anuraj Goonetilleke, Vice President Corporate Business Development and Strategy at Warner Bros. said: 'We’re very excited about the launch of our joint video-on-demand business across Asia, starting with the Philippines, Thailand and now in India.  Providing world-class content to Asia’s entertainment fans will meet a voracious appetite for new and classic videos and TV episodes on-demand.’

The service will also be accessible to all customers in India through its website www.hooq.tv.  Customers can watch videos of their choice and pay for the subscription through multiple e-payment options such as credit card, debit card, cash card, internet banking and mobile wallet.   

Is Internet Corrupting Your Child?

Nischint, a parental guidance and child monitoring companies in India, has released interesting data to gauge the extent of digital consumption amongst kids in India. The figures revealed fascinating data regarding mobile usage amongst children between 5 to 17 years of age.

According to data sourced from 14000 family devices (7000 parent devices and 7000 child devices), kids converse with as many as 45 people by making calls each day, which lasts for about 0.32 seconds on an average. The number of SMS messages sent from a child device is an astonishing 18 whereas each kid receives about 20 promo messages per day. These figures throw light on an eye-opening trend that digitally savvy kids are susceptible to a plethora of cyber-attacks and it is imperative for parents to ensure an enjoyable yet secure digital experience for their children.

The data trends were observed for a period of 90 days from February to April 2015, and revealed some intriguing findings. The highlights of the study are mentioned below:
·         Peak Hours when kids make calls on their devices: 7 to 8PM
·         Peak hours of application usage: 5 to 8 PM
·         Average no. of images taken per child device each day: 5
·         Average no. of videos taken per child device each day: 1.5
·         Average time spent per hour by a child on the internet: 40s to 1 min
·         Average hours spent by kids on social media sites like Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Youtube: 3.4 Minutes
·         Most used sites on the internet: Facebook.com, Google.co.in, Flipkart.com, Cricinfo.com
·         Most popular apps downloaded: Whatsapp, Youtube, Facebook, Snapchat, NDTV, FIfa 15, Candy crush, Learn to draw Lego Ninjago, GTA
·         Examples of a few out of 33 Lakh sites blocked by Nischint on child devices: Indiansexstories.net, Hardsextube.com, Pornhub.com

Raghav Mimani, CEO and Co-founder at Nischint commented on the need for digital security and said, “The digital explosion in India and around the world is extremely exciting and kids and adults alike want to be part of this phenomenon. It is a great way to share knowledge and connect with different peers across the world. However, kids often fail to recognize and screen out hazards that the digital world poses. This has been reflected in the data we have procured for assessing digital consumption amongst kids.”

He further added, “At Nischint, we are a firm believer in propagating the benefits of digital collaboration but we also stand by the need for parents to provide the digital aids by securing the devices they possess.”

Nischint has constantly endeavoured to provide a secure solution for parents to monitor their kids’ activities and protect them from cyber-crimes. The app has received more than 20,000 downloads, out of which 4000 users access the app on a daily basis and 7000 users access Nischint every two days and ~ 10,000 users access this data atleast once a week. Most of Nischint’s traffic comes from the Delhi NCR region and is followed by Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai.

Nischint has engaged with telecom operators around the world and is now in the process of integrating its award winning solutions for telecom operators in Nigeria and Saudi Arabia.