Delivery Drones Become a Reality in Germany

German logistics company DHL recently announced it is launching a new drone delivery service to get "urgently needed goods," such as life-saving medicines, to certain remote locations.

The company's plan is to use small, parcel-carrying drones to deliver medications and emergency supplies to Juist, an island in Germany's North Sea, where more traditional delivery options (such as ferries or trains) aren't always available. The drone service is a continuation of DHL's "parcelcopter research project," which launched in December 2013.

But the DHL drones have changed significantly since their maiden flight, DHL officials said in a statement. For one thing, they've been modified to endure the high winds and rain that they may face over the North Sea. The parcelcopter 2.0 can reach altitudes of 164 feet (50 meters) and can fly as fast as 40 miles per hour (64 km/h). The drone is also capable of flying for extended periods of time — about 45 minutes before needing to be recharged — enabling it to make the roughly 7.5-mile (12 km) journey to Juist, according to DHL officials

The drone can carry loads of up to 2.6 pounds (1.2 kilograms). The drone itself weighs 11 pounds (5 kg), according to DHL.

Thanks to a new autopilot feature, the maiden flights of the new and improved drones will be completely automated, even during takeoff and landing, company officials said in the statement. However, drone pilots will be standing by at a mobile ground station in Norddeich, on the coast of mainland Germany, just in case something goes awry.

Once the drones land at Juist, the parcels (secured in a lightweight, weatherproof case) will be delivered to their recipients by a human courier.

For now, the company will be using the drones only when other delivery options aren't available, and no plans are currently in the works to incorporate the parcelcopters into normal day-to-day deliveries, according to company officials.

However, DHL does seem to be taking its drone delivery program seriously. The company sought full approval from government agencies to carry out the project. The German Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure went so far as to establish a restricted flight area exclusively for use by DHL's parcelcopters.

And the company has good reason to keep moving ahead with its drone delivery option. Several other companies, including Amazon and Google, have already begun testing their own versions of parcel-delivery drones.

In December 2013, Amazon announced its futuristic Prime Air service, which would use drones to deliver packages straight from the online retailer's warehouses to customers' doorsteps — and quickly. In an interview with "60 Minutes," Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said the company hopes to get goods into the hands of shoppers in 30 minutes or less from the time of purchase.

Following on Amazon's heels is Google, which revealed its own drone delivery project in August. Dubbed "Project Wing," the Google effort is still in an early phase of development, according to the company, but the concept will likely be similar to other drone-delivery systems.

Unlike the Germany-based DHL, however, efforts by Amazon and Google have been stalled by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which oversees the country's civil aviation but has yet to establish official regulations for the commercial use of drones. The FAA is expected to announce its rules in 2015, but until then, the development of delivery drones in the U.S. remains in regulatory limbo.

Karbonn Titanium Wind W4, WP 8.1 based phone available for Rs 5999

After releasing Android One based the Sparkle V phone, Karbonn has quitely launched a new Windows Phone based smartphone. Though there's no official announcement, Karbonn's new Titanium Wind W4 is available via an e-commerce website for Rs. 5,999.

The Titanium Wind W4 is powered by a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon clocked at 1.2GHz  combined with 512MB of RAM. The smartphone houses a 4-inch screen with a resolution of 400 x 800p. There's a 5MP camera with flash at the back and the device comes with dual-SIM capabilities.

Earlier this year, Microsoft had announced partnership with Karbonn and other Indian phone manufacturers in order to introduce budget friendly Windows Phone devices in the market. And after the announcement of XOLO Win Q900s and Micromax Canvas series Windows phone, Karbonn Windows phone powered device was much due.

The Karbonn Titanium Wind W4 is perhaps among the lowest priced Windows phone devices available in the market right now. Karbonn has managed to price the smartphone quite competitively and is likely to reap the benefits in this festive season. Apart from other budget Android phones, the new Wind W4 will also go head to head with the newly launched Android One smartphones.

Source: Amazon

Nokia 130 Dual SIM feature phone available online for Rs. 1750

Microsoft's recently announced feature phone – Nokia 130 Dual SIM – is now up for grabs in India via the Nokia e-store for Rs. 1,848. E-commerce site Snapdeal is offering the phone at Rs. 1,750.

The Nokia 130 Dual SIM sports a 1.8-inch QVGA screen. It runs Series 30 OS. Other important features of the feature phone include built-in video and music players, Bluetooth and USB connectivity, FM Radio and support for 32GB microSD expandable memory. The phone is powered by a 1020 mAh battery that is rated to deliver 13 hours of talktime.

Even on decline, feature phones are still a huge segment, especially in emerging markets. While Microsoft is aiming at the mid range and budget smartphone segment, it aims to tap the 'first time mobile users' with its low cost feature phones.

Looking at the trend, the price gap between feature phones and smartphones is narrowing. We already have Android smartphone, starting at Rs. 1,999. Intex recently launched Aqua T2 KitKat phone at Rs. 2,699. Moreover, Mozilla's Firefox OS based phones are also competing in that segment.

Gionee Elife S5.1 sets world record for the slimmest smartphone

Gionee's latest smartphone – Elife S5.1 – has made it Guinness Book of World Records as world's slimmest smartphone. The smartphone has a 5.1 mm shell featuring glass and metal. Earlier, Gionee had launched Elife S5.5, which featured 5.5mm thickness, was also among the slimmest phones.

The Gionee Elife S5.1 recently launched in China. The smartphone has a 4.8-inch display with 720p resolution. The smartphone is powered by a quad-core processor along with 1GB of RAM. The S5.1 has an 8MP rear camer and a 5MP front facing wide angle camera. It is powered by a 2100 mAh battery.

"We are excited to have made it to the Guinness World Records for the world's thinnest smartphone category. The Gionee Elife S5.1 has been launched in China and will be available in India by early November," Gionee Smartphones India Head Arvind Vohra is quoted as saying.

According to reports, the Elife S5.1 is expected to launch in India by end of this year.

Nexus 6 aka Shamu to feature Snapdragon 805 SoC, 5.9 inch display

Images an unannounced Motorola device, which is rumored to be the next Nexus, have surfaced online. According to rumours, the next Nexus aka Nexus 6 aka Shamu may come with a 5.9 -inch display instead of earlier rumored 5.2-inch, and supposedly will have the same design DNA as the Motorola Moto X (2nd gen).

According to 9to5 Google, the device will be packing a 5.9 inch quadHD display at 1440p and will be powered by a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 clocked at 2.6GHz. It will come with 32GB of inbuilt storage and 3GBs of RAM. It is also rumored to have a 12MP rear camera with a 2MP camera at the front.

Earlier reports suggest that Google has partnered with Motorola for a new device with a 5.9-inch display and this new image leak suggests that they are going forward with it. The device is bound to be running Android L and Google could announce the Nexus “phablet” late october this year.

If the new Nexus is indeed a 5.9 phablet, it will be competing against the Sony Xperia T2 Ultra and the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 4. Since this would be a Nexus device, it is expected that the device will be priced lower than the competition.

Source: 9to5 Google

Apple responds to bent iPhone 6 complaints

Apple acknolwedged received complaints about the iPhone 6 Plus bending in users pockets in the first few days of its sale. To counter, Apple invited journalists to its Testing Lab and showed off the durability tests it puts smartphones through.

Phil Schiller, Apple’s vice president of worldwide marketing, stated that the company has received only nine reports of bent iPhone 6 Plus, which is a small number. He pointed out  that the iPhones have some of the best features including a unibody construction, high-grade aluminum, the “strongest glass in the industry” as well as stainless steel and titanium inserts.

Apple says that it put 15,000 iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus review units (each) through “exhaustive” tests before launch. The first is a series of tests called 'Sit tests' which is the most relevant for checking iPhones bending problem. A single iPhone is placed in the back pocket of tight jeans and is sat on, against a hard surface, the second simulates sitting into a couch, and finally when someone sits with the phone in their pocket on a hard surface at an angle. Dan Riccio, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering stated that the company cycles through these, “thousands of times.”

"The iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus are the most tested," Dan Riccio, Apple's senior vice president of hardware engineering stated. "As we add more and more features, we have to find out a way to break them before customers do."

The second test is three-point bending where Apple’s tests place pressure on iPhones in varying degrees to make sure they can handle “reasonable” force in various situations. In the test 25 kilograms of weight is pressed across the center of the phone. The test showed that the smartphone did bend under the weight; but when the metal bar was released, the phone reverted back into its shape.

The third test called Pressure-point cycling is when “substantial” force is put on an iPhone’s display and encasing to check its durability. In the test a 10 KG weight is pressed directly in the center of the iPhone.

Finally, there is a torsion test which Apple demonstrated on an iPhone 6, an iPhone 6 Plus and a MacBook Pro. The products were twisted from both ends at various angles about 8000 times to simulate life like situations, such as sitting on an iPhone unevenly.

Apple adds that apart from these tests, real-life user studies are also conducted by the company, which involves hundreds of the company employees who use the phones in various situations to test for both durability and performance.

This isn't the first time Apple has opened its testing facilities to journalists in response to problems. In 2010, the tech giant invited a handful of people to its wireless testing labs after the iPhone 4's antenna issues came to light.

Source: The Verge, Recode

Apple releases iOS 8.0.2 update with bugs fixes and improvements

Apple has rolled out a new iOS update shortly after it had to withdraw the previous v8.0.1 update due to wide complaints about security and reception issues. The latest update, v8.0.2, is available for download.

Apple says the latest software update fixes an issue that affected iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users who had upgraded to v8.0.1. The update features improvements and bug fixes. "We apologize for inconveniencing the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users who were impacted by the bug in iOS 8.0.1,” says the company in a statement. 

The last iOS 8.0.1 update was reported to cause drop in cellular reception and affected devices were unable to restore the reception despite switching between airplane mode or switching the phone off and on again. Some users also complained about having issues with the phone’s Touch ID sensor.

Zdnet reports some iPhone users are still facing issues despite the new update. According to the website, users on social media are reporting about glitches in TouchID and cellular service failure issues. 

The iOS upgrade glitch comes at a time when Apple is facing flak from all corners over the 'bendgate'. According to some customers who have posted images of the newly bought smartphone, the iPhone 6 Plus bends if one accidentally sits on it for a long time, especially when it is in your pocket. Samsung and other rivals have already started taking a dig at Apple over the issue.

Source: CNET

Lenovo Vibe X2, octa-core phone listed on company's India site

Lenovo's recently announced octa-core smartphone Vibe X2 smartphone is set to launch in India. The Vibe X2 is already listed on Lenovo's official India website, though without price and availability details. 

The Lenovo Vibe X2, unveiled at the IFA 2014, has a 5-inch full HD display. It is powered by 2GHz octa-core MediaTek MT6595m processor along with 2GB of RAM. The smartphone comes with 32 built-in storage. It has 13MP autofocus rear camera and 5MP front facing camera. The device runs on a 2,300 mAh battery and is 7.2 mm thick. 

The new Vibe smartphone is successor to the Lenovo Vibe X, which launched in India last year. Priced at Rs. 19,999, the smartphone sports a 5-in full HD display, quad-core processor and 13MP camera. 

Another most anticipated smartphone from Lenovo is the Vibe Z2, which was also unveiled at the IFA. The smartphone a 5.5 inch 720p display. The device has a 64-bit chipset from Qualcomm, but not the one HTC has on the Desire 820.

Source: Lenovo

AMD brings new line of GPUs to India including R9 285

Computer graphics giant, AMD today launched three of its newest products in India. Among these are the AMD Radeon R9 285 graphics card, AMD FirePro W8100 Workstation Graphics and AMD FirePro W9100 Workstation Graphics.

The R9 285 was originally unveiled back in August at AMD's 30 Years of Graphics and Gaming event. It offers a core clock speed of 918 MHz and 2GB of frame buffer that runs at 5.5 Gbps. It also supports DirectX 12 and the company's own Mantle API.

Further, the FirePro W8100 is an professional graphics card that is designed for 4K CAD. It features an 8 GB of GDDR5 memory and supports 4.2 TFLOPS of single precision compute performance.

Lastly, the W9100 is also a professional graphics card that has 16GB GDDR5 memory. Like the W8100 this is also designed for 4K workstations.

The company is going to launch some other products as well during the course of the day and we're at the event in Goa to cover it. So watch this space.

Facebook to start testing Internet-beaming drones in 2015

Facebook plans to start testing internet beaming drones next year to provide internet connectivity in remote locations. The social networking giant plans to launch the first test plane in 2015 with the ultimate aim to provide internet access through the sci-fi planes as early as three to five years from now.

Facebook Connectivity Lab's Yael Maguire revealed more details about the social networking sites plans at the Social Good Summit in New York earlier this week. He stated that the project aims to connect the last 15 percent of the unconnected world population with the internet planes. Maguire revealed that the main difficulty they have faced with the project is how to design a plane that will fly above the weather – 60.000 to 90.000 feet up in the air – for months or even years at a time. He added that the team will have to adapt solar power panels to the new task, as it may be the only feasible solution. But operating machinery at such a high altitude has a lot of challenges.

"In order for us to fly these planes — unmanned planes that have to fly for months, or perhaps years at a time — we actually have to fly above the weather, above all airspace," Maguire said. "That's between 60,000 and 90,000 feet. Routinely, planes don't fly there, and certainly not drones."

"We’re taking on a whole bunch of technical risk, but we’re also taking on whole bunch of regulatory risk, because there are no rules about flying planes outside of 60,000 feet and above. There are no rules about beaming signals down to people in those environments,” Maguire said.

Internet giant Google is also planning to build a satellite fleet to provide internet access in remote areas. Reportedly the internet giant is planning to spend more than $1 billion to build 180 new satellites that will orbit the Earth and provide internet access globally.

Source: Mashable

'Bash' software bug may be a bigger threat than 'Heartbleed'

Security experts have discovered a new security bug called "Bash" that could reportedly pose a bigger threat to computer users than the "Heartbleed" bug that surfaced in April. According to security experts, hackers can exploit a bug in Bash software to take complete control of a targeted system.

The Department of Homeland Security's United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team, or US-CERT, has issued an alert saying the vulnerability affected Unix-based operating systems including Linux and Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) Mac OS X. US-CERT has advised computer users to obtain operating systems updates from software makers and added that Red Hat Inc had already prepared them.

Dan Guido, chief executive of a cyber security firm Trail of Bits stated that the "Heartbleed" bug allowed hackers to spy on computers but Bash can take complete control of the system. "The method of exploiting this issue is also far simpler. You can just cut and paste a line of code and get good results," he added.

Google Inc security researcher Tavis Ormandy, stated in Twitter that the patches seemed "incomplete," which raised concerns. "That means some systems could be exploited even though they are patched," said Chris Wysopal, chief technology officer with security software maker Veracode.

"Everybody is scrambling to patch all of their Internet-facing Linux machines. That is what we did at Veracode today," he said. "It could take a long time to get that done for very large organizations with complex networks."

Tod Beardsley, an engineering manager at cyber security firm Rapid7, stated that the bug was rated a "10" for severity, meaning it has maximum impact, and rated "low" for complexity of exploitation, meaning it is relatively easy for hackers to launch attacks.

"Using this vulnerability, attackers can potentially take over the operating system, access confidential information, make changes, et cetera," Beardsley said. "Anybody with systems using Bash needs to deploy the patch immediately."

"Heartbleed bug," discovered in April is an open-source encryption software called OpenSSL. The bug affected millions of computers as OpenSSL is used in about two-thirds of all websites and forced dozens of technology companies to issue security patches for hundreds of products that use OpenSSL.

Source: Red Hat Security Blog

Soon to launch Blackberry Passport to be priced above Rs. 40,000?

Blackberry launched the much hyped Passport smartphone in the US and Europe recently. The smartphone comes with a square display and is aimed at business users. The Blackberry Passport will be available in India next week and will probably be priced above Rs. 40,000.

The phone is Blackberry’s best specced phone till date with its quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 CPU clocked at 2.2GHz combined with 3GB of RAM. The phone comes with 32GB of internal storage and takes microSD cards up to 128GB. Blackberry has included a 13MP camera on the back with a 2MP camera for the front.

The main feature of the Blackberry is its 1440 x 1440p square display which will let you have a desktop like view which is helpful if you want edit Excel sheets on the phone itself. The phone features a reinvented keyboard which is also touch-enabled. Blackberry has also added a personal assistant in the mix which will work like Siri and Cortana.

The Blackberry Passport will try to regain market for Blackberry which it has lost to Android, iOS and Windows Phone. The phone has a lot of ground to cover before it's able to take back its users or woo even the loyalists.

Source: ET

Apple withdraws iOS 8.0.1 bugfix update due to bugs

Apple, which recently released the latest update to iOS 8 on Wednesday, namely version 8.0.1, has now withdrawn the update. Apple abruptly withdrew the update after many users who updated their devices started facing security and reception problems.

The latest iOS update 8.0.1 was reported to drop cellular reception and the affected devices were unable to restore the reception even after toggling airplane mode or switching the phone off and on again. Some users also reported problems with the phone’s Touch ID sensor.

After people started tweeting about the bugs in the new update, Apple withdrew the update. As of now the best solution to this is to downgrade your device to the previous update and wait for the next bug fix update.

It seems like Apple was in a hurry to fix a slew of issues birthed by the iOS 8 update and in that hurry, goofed up. We will keep you posted if Apple releases a new update to address the iOS 8.0.1 issue.

Source: The Verge

Martian Notifier smartwatch up for pre order online at Rs. 9999

US-based Martian Watches has entered the Indian market with a Martian Notifier smartwatch for Android and iOS users at a budget price of Rs. 9,999. The smartwatch is available to pre-order exclusively from Flipkart and will be released by October 10.

Martian Notifier is a Bluetooth 4.0-enabled smartwatch that lets users view notifications from popular apps like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, Skype, LinkedIn, Gmail as well as from thousands of Android and iOS apps. The wearable also supports CallerIDs and text message support.

Users will be able to view app notifications on the smartwatch's 96x16 pixel graphic OLED display, i.e, placed below the analogue watch dial. To dismiss a notification or snooze it for up to 5 minutes after it has been received, users have to tap the Martian Notifier smartwatch's glass. The wearable allows you to scroll through notification history, as well as remotely access the paired smartphone's camera shutter along with the 3-second timer control or even locate a misplaced smartphone that's paired with the smartwatch. However the device does not support voice calling, which has become a norm with all recently launched smartwatches.

Jeffrey Hsieh, CEO of Martian Watches stated in an official press release, “Bringing the Martian Notifier to a worldwide market, especially a major growth market for consumer electronics such as India, provides a unique opportunity to set standards in the Indian wearable tech market with our world class quality and great value. Consumers in India are looking for wearable technology that melds well into their daily lives with a personalized digital experience, and we feel a smartwatch design with style like ours is just the thing they are looking for and Flipkart is the ideal partner to help make this available to them.”

Tech giants like Sony, LG, Samsung and Motorola are targeting India with their wearable devices. However the cost is a big detriment to smartwatch sales in India, with the wearable's costing as much as a mid-range smartphone.

BlackBerry Passport to launch in India on September 29

BlackBerry is gearing up for an September 29 event in Delhi where the company is expected to showcase the much-awaited Passport smartphone. The BlackBerry Passport has grabbed some attention with its unique square form factor which includes a large display as well as QWERTY keyboard.

The BlackBerry Passport has a 4.5-inch display with a 1440x1440 resolution. The smartphone runs the latest BlackBerry 10.3 OS. Other specifications of the Passport include quad-core processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of built-in storage, expandable up to 64GB via microSD, 13MP rear camera with BSI sensor and 2MP front facing camera. The Passport is powered by a 3460 mAh battery. Find out more about the Passport device here.

Right now there's no word on the India pricing of the device. However, the smartphone is selling in the UK for $599.

Even though BlackBerry is currently struggling to survive in the smartphone market, the company has shown some promise with the latest BlackBerry 10 OS. The Passport is apparently unique device and has grabbed eyeballs globally. However, reception of the Passport device in the Indian market is uncertain.

Amazon India announces Release Day Delivery service

Amazon India has launched Release Day Delivery (RDD) service, dedicated to delivering new products to customers on the day of their launch. Amazon's customers will be able to pre-order products and receive them on the day of their release on their doorstep with the service.

Amazon launched the service with the release of Xbox One. So hundreds of customers who had pre booked the Xbox One in 35+ cities have started receiving their deliveries today. The company has enabled Release Day Delivery for the video games category for now and will be adding other categories soon.

Xbox One was released at 00.01 hours in India on Tuesday. Amazon India surprised several customers of Xbox One who had pre-booked the product with midnight deliveries. The deliveries were made to customers in Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Delhi, Chennai, Pune, Ahmedabad and Nagpur.

Amit Agarwal, Vice President and Country Manager, Amazon India stated, "We know how eager customers are to lay their hands on new releases. We cannot think of a better way to 'Deliver Smiles'. We are absolutely delighted by the response we got and look forward to offering more delightful experiences for our customers."

Amazon has been trying to gain the top spot in India's online retail space. The company recently announced that it may start drone deliveries in time with the festival season in October. Crisil reports, that the Indian online retail market is expected to touch Rs 50,000 crore by 2016, attracting major foreign retailers. 

Source: ET