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Startup Company Unveils World’s First Foldable Smartphone, Beats the major Tech Giants

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Quite unimaginable, but a start-up company has beaten the big giants by making the world’s first foldable smartphone named the Royole FlexPai. Although companies like Huawei and LG had expressed their intentions of developing bendable smartphones in 2019, now they won’t be the first ones to do so. The smartphone was unveiled by Royole Corporation, a California-based start-up company, at a conference, in Beijing, China on Wednesday.

The device is a tablet with a 7.8-inch display in a single panel that can be folded into halves, the screen remaining on the outer side, without breaking and making the size of the tablet fit into the pocket. The device is 7.8mm thick and can be bent up to 180 degrees, with the help of a hinge, that is placed at the spot of the fold. The device has the 1920×1440 pixels resolution screen. On the folded position, the screen on the edge shows the notifications and other settings options.

Royole FlexPai
Image Source: royole.com

The device is empowered by the Water OS 1.0, based on the Android 9.0 Pie OS and runs on the Qualcomm’s next-generation Snapdragon 8-series processor. Interestingly, the smartphone is using the latest processor, that still has to be launched officially in coming two months.

The smartphone is also providing better camera quality with a 16-megapixel widescreen lens and a 20-megapixel telephoto lens, dual camera, having an aperture of f / 1.8. The camera can be used when the screen is opened to the tablet format. The smartphone comes with a storage range starting from 6GB to 512GB, and a 3,800mAh Lithium Polymer battery.

The company has established a workshop in Beijing, China, for the manufacturing of the smartphones, and is currently available for the pre-orders in China only. The price for the three variant of the device is set as ¥ 8,999 (€ 1140) for 6GB RAM model, ¥ 9998 (€ 1265) for 8GB RAM model and ¥ 12999 (€ 1645) for 8GB RAM model. The company has proclaimed that it will spend 200 million yuan into global firms that would develop apps and software for the device. Also, the Royole FlexPai is said to be released in the global market in December 2018.

Amazon’s Fire TV Stick 4K is Cheaper & is Beating its Predecessors

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After shipping the Fire TV Cube ($120) and third-generation Fire TV ($70, now discontinued), last year, Amazon has now launched a much cheaper yet outperforming 4K HDR video streaming device, named Fire TV Stick 4K. The device claims to provide better performance and costs only $50.

This time the remote of the device has got more features than the device itself, as now this tiny Alexa voice remote can control the TV with the power, volume, and mute buttons. With the remote, the user can control the TV’s current HDMI input, the attached soundbar, as well as can tune the channels, on the satellite set-top boxes.

Fire TV Stick
Image Source: timeincuk.net

The previous Fire TV devices can also be paired with the remote and can be bought separately. Also, the new Fire TV Cube will now be available in the market, with this new Alexa remote. Alexa enabled device can help the user to check the weather, control the smart lights, pull up a feed from the doorbell cam, or access Alexa’s other functionalities with a simple voice request. To use Alexa in the handsfree mode, the user just needs to pair the Fire TV stick with an Echo device.

The predecessors of the Fire TV Stick were built on the 1.5 GHz quad-core processor, that too is improved in the newly launched device, as it is powered by the 1.7 GHz quad-core processor. The high-performance device, now includes the hardware-accelerated MPEG-2 video, enabling the user to plug-in the HDHomeRun Connect TV tuner into the Wi-Fi router, and enjoy over-the-air channels from an antenna. This enables the users to watch full broadcast quality channels on their home TVs.

The Fire TV Stick 4K has got the support for both Dolby Vision and HDR10+, that its predecessors, Fire TV pendant and Fire TV Cube, lacked and supported the basic HDR10 format. The device also converts the standard dynamic videos to HDR. The device is connected to the TV with a USB port, streaming excellent picture and sound. The Fire TV Stick has got various inbuilt apps, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, and also streams the live TV services such as PlayStation Vue and Hulu. Still, the device does not have an app for Walmart’s Vudu service.

The device is the cheapest to stream the Dolby Vision, and it has provided a lot of content to the users to scroll over, keeping the business strategy clear in mind. The faster software handling and more sensitive voice command functionality of the device, at such a price, is making a huge difference with the performance as compared to the Roku and even the Apple TV. The Fire TV Stick, currently, is only available for the Amazon Prime members.

Apple Gadgets Receives the Much-Awaited Updates in Apple’s Hardware Event 2018

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First time ever, Apple’s hardware event held at the Brooklyn city, in New York. The event has just taken place after about a month of its previous hardware event held in this year. Apple during the event unveiled the refreshed version of its iPad Pro, MacBook Air and Mac Mini. For the past few years, the gadgets were getting only a few changes in their features. But this time the products have been redesigned, loading them with new air.

Apple
Image Source: theblogroom.com

The MacBook Air is now having a 13.3 inches screen and a narrow black glass bezel. After spending six years with the same high-resolution feature, the MacBook Air is now has got the Retina display with 4 million pixel resolution. The device is also equipped with the touch ID sensor, on the third-gen Butterfly Keyboard, with a larger trackpad. The device has been upgraded to the 8th Gen 1.6-GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor. The storage variant for different versions of the MacBook Air ranges from 128GB to 1.5TB, and the RAM size is between 8GB to 16GB. The MacBook Air also consists of two Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports and 3.5 mm headphone jack. The device has got updates on its looks, too, and is available in Gold, Silver, and Space Gray colours.

Apple has also announced the redesigned iPad Pro, having two different screen sizes 11-inch and 12.9-inches, having a retina display. The new iPad Pro is solely inspired by the new iPhones. The home button is all gone and is replaced by the swipe up gesture. The iPad has got the face ID feature and black slimmer bezels. The iPad can be paired with the smart keyboard Folio and other Bluetooth keyboards, making it work as a laptop. The iPad also has got the stylus support with a second generation Apple Pencil that is enabled with the gesture control. Sadly, the new stylus is only compatible with the new devices and does not support the older ones. The storage available with the iPad ranges between 64 GB to 1 TB. The device comes with a USB-C port and no headphone jack.

The Mac Mini also gets its share of updates, after its launch with the iPhone 6, back in 2014. The Mac Mini is a small but stylish grey desktop PC, powered by the Intel Core i3 processor. The basic model of Mac Mini consists of 8GB of RAM and a 128 GB hard disk. The new Mac Mini is sleeker and has accomplished with more hardware facilities. The Mac Mini now does have the 4 USB-C Thunderbolt ports and two USB-A ports as well as the HDMI for displays.

Apple claims that the MacBook Air as well as the Mac Mini, both have been built with 100 per cent recycled Aluminium, costing $1,200 for the basic model of MacBook Air and $799 for the basic model of Mac Mini. The iPad Pro is at the higher end of the price, costing $799 for the 11 inches iPad Pro and $999 for the 12.9 inches iPad Pro. As the launch of the Apple gadgets has taken place before the starting of the holiday season, the availability of the same can be expected during the holiday season.

AT&T Planning the Trials of New Android-based Streaming Device in 2019

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AT&T, after facing a decline in its traditional pay-TV business, has decided and buckled up for launching its new streaming device, that, AT&T is, currently, beta testing. The streaming device, named as Osprey, is a set-top box, that targets to run on the Android TV and allows the access to other streaming apps. The news was officially announced by John Donovan, the CEO of AT&T Communications, on the third earnings call of AT&T.

Android TV
Image Source: 9to5google.com

AT&T went through a net loss of 346,000 traditional TV customers. Still, it has gained 49,000 for its DirecTV Now, streaming service and with the increasing popularity of Android TV, AT&T has figured out the way to recover its losses and lost customers. Developing a device basically to run with an Android TV can be considered a remarkable move for the business of AT&T.

Donovan said, “we expect this service to be EBITDA positive, and over time, it should lower the acquisition cost of our premium video service.” Last year, Variety reported the development of such device that was later, confirmed by AT&T.

The set-top box will support the voice remote, 4K playback, and also, will run the third-party Android apps. The company is more focused on improving profitability and will adopt more deliberate strategies, to break the deals. Donovan added, “Evaluating our channel lineups and taking a fresh look at how we can align content cost with the price.”

The device will be running on the DirecTV Now and the new DirecTV streaming version. AT&T will provide the same contracts and number of channels, in the new set-top-box, but mainly it is focused on eliminating the traditional satellite dish. The trial for the device is expected to start in early 2019, and there has been no statement about the final launch of the device in the market.

The Chinese Amphibious AG600 Completes its First Waterborne Take-off

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AG600
Image Source: chinaplus.cri.cn

China, on Saturday, successfully, completed the first takeoff and landing of its amphibious aeroplane, on water, at a reservoir in China’s central Hubei province. The plane is called the Kunlong AG600. Kunlong is a Chinese word, that means Water Dragon. The AG600 is the world’s biggest amphibious plane and has been built by China independently. The aircraft is one of the three largest aircraft of China, including the Y-20 military transport aircraft and the C-919 commercial passenger airliner. During the Saturday’s trial, the AG600 completed a 14-minute ride, successfully.

The Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) began the production of the prototype of the seaplane, in 2014, after China announced the AG600 program, in 2011. The aircraft was first unveiled in July 2016, in Zhuhai city of southern China. The Aircraft carried out its first trial flight, in August 2018, from the Zhuhai airport in the Guangdong province of China, to the Jingmen airport in Hubei province of China.

The aircraft possesses four WJ-6 turboprop engines, the Chinese-made versions of a Russian engine. It is 37 meters long, and the wings are 38.8 meters widespread. The plane can carry 50 people and can hold a maximum take-off weight of 59 tons on land, and 54 tons on the water. AVIC has claimed that the AG600 can stay airborne for up to 12 hours, and its cruising speed can reach up to 500 kilometres per hour. Without the refuelling, the operational range for the aircraft can be about 4,500 kilometres at max.

The production of the AG600 targets at bringing out the maritime search-and-rescue operations and the aerial fire-fighting operations. The aircraft requires a water depth of 2.5 meters for landing and take-off. And, is capable of taking off and land in waves up to 6.5 feet high. The AG600 can resist two-meter-high waves. The aircraft is useful for carrying supplies and military personnel, during any of the Chinese maritime military operations. However, China claims that the AG600 will only be a part of the marine monitoring and safety patrol, the development of the world’s largest amphibious aircraft has raised many eyebrows as well.

Samaira Mehta : Little Fingers Running from Coding to Entrepreneurship

Founder, Inspiration, start-up, Story, Tech Story / By
samaira mehta
Image Source: Facebook

Most of the children, at the age of six, are adjusting with their school’s environment, some have still not joined the school yet, and some brilliant minds of the same age, are working towards excellence, and making their ways into the tech world. Such gifted kid, from the Silicon Valley, is a ten years old Samaira Mehta, who has been into the limelight for her invention, at the age of eight, becoming one of the youngest entrepreneurs and a powerful motivational speaker.

Samaira Mehta, an Indian-American girl, was born on 4 March 2008, to Rakesh Mehta and Monica Mehta. Her father works as an engineer at Intel Co., and her mother worked in the field of marketing for more than a decade. Samaira was just six years old when her father started teaching her programming. The bright Samaira developed an immense interest in the same and started practising it. According to one of her interviews, she loved doing coding and playing the board games. Love for the two brought her the idea of mixing both of them and creating a board game that could help the people of age from 4-104, to learn to code in an easier way.

When Samaira turned eight, she finally decided to transform her idea into reality and launched a board game, naming it the CoderBunnyz. The game became popular in no time, and hence, Samaira co-founded a company, with her mother, given the same name to it as the game.

samaira mehta
Image Source: indiawest.com

Little Samaira became a self-made entrepreneur at the tender age of eight. After the success of CoderBunnyz, she came out with its sequel CoderMindz. CoderMindz is based on the concept of Artificial Intelligence and is another hit. The game is first of its kind, and Samaira gives half of its credit to her younger brother Aadit Mehta, who assisted her in the development and is just six-years-old.

From basic to advance, the CoderBunnyz has thirteen levels, that makes the players grow their skills, with every step. The game has made a place among the Five Best Board Games of the World, that is a huge thing for anyone, at the age of ten. Before making up to the top five board games, it had already won the second-place prize of $2,500, from Think Tank Learning’s Pitchfest, in 2016.

After the launch of the game, Samaira started providing demo classes in libraries and schools, so that the kids could learn how to play. Soon, she received invitations for large tech events. Her game also grabbed the attention of the to tech giants, like Google and Microsoft, and they also organised the demo workshops for the game. Until now, she has done over 50 workshops in Silicon Valley, teaching over 2000 kids, including over 50 at Google. After the workshop at Google, she also received an offer of working with Google, as soon as she completes her college, by Stacy Sullivan, Google’s Chief Culture Officer.

Samaira also developed another board game, especially for the underrepresented girls, named as Girls U Code. Her achievement also brought her a letter of appreciation from the White House. Samaira has been featured in NBC, Sony, ZDF, Mercury News, sina.com and several media in three continents (North America, Asia, Europe) and over 11 countries. She spoke at the CMG Impact 2016 Women in Tech (2017), becoming the youngest speaker at CMG. She also gave a speech at the MyPowerTalk at Silicon Valley tech forum, in the same year, where she received a standing ovation from more than 400 women. The Cartoon Network also profiled her as the real-life “Powerpuff Girl”. She has received the Young Entrepreneur Award from the Silicon Valley, in 2017.

The big tech companies are all set to hire the young entrepreneur, but, it all it is up to her whether she will go with a multinational tech company or will run her own business. Until then, we can just watch her progress. Along with playing with codes and creating unusual board games, Samaira also loves to play guitar and archery. She is a supporter of girls education and wants to make people of every age fall in love with coding and programming.