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With its simple design and optimizations for social connections, it is not surprise that Instagram is the world's most popular photo-sharing app, with as many as 400 million users. It's easy to figure out the basics like cropping a photo or choosing a filter to make it look better.

But while Instagram's interface is simple to use, there are hidden features that can enhance the overall experience. Let's take a look at the 7 Instagram features that you probably don't about...

You can hide photo filters if you don't use them



Photo filters are what made Instagram famous but as camera quality has improved users have become more and more adverse to sticking "X-PRO II" over a photo and calling it a day.

Luckily, Instagram has added the ability to hide filters. Simply open a photo ready to edit, scroll all the way to the right in the filters tab and tap "Manage." From here, filters can easily be ticked or unticked depending on whether you want to see them.

Hide the bad photos of you that others are tagging



Anyone who keeps a relatively polished Instagram account knows the pain of being tagged in a bad photo that then haunts your account whenever anyone clicks through to the "Photos of You" tab.

To hide a tagged photo, go to the "Photos of You" tab, select the photo, reveal the tags (by tapping once on the image), tap your name and select "Hide from My Profile" and then click "Finished."See what your friends are liking

Have you ever wondered what kind of photos the people you follow are liking? Instagram has a built-in feature, located in the "Activity" tab, that allows a clear view of what people are liking and when.

Simply go to "Activity" and scroll left to the "Following" tab.

See all the photos you've liked in the past




Desperately searching for a photo is a pain, especially when you just know that it can't be far down the feed because you liked it earlier.

Instagram feels this pain and has built in a "Photos You've Liked" feature that is tucked away in Settings, accessed via the cog in the top-right corner of the Profile page.Get notifications when your favourite accounts post a new photo

We all have our own Instagram obsessions, accounts that we just can't stop checking because the photos are just that good. However, obsessively checking an account can feel weird. Thankfully, Instagram includes a feature that sends you a notification whenever they post.

Head to the profile in question, tap the three dots in the top left corner and select "Turn on Post Notifications." That's it.


Get notifications when your favourite accounts post a new photo




We all have our own Instagram obsessions, accounts that we just can't stop checking because the photos are just that good. However, obsessively checking an account can feel weird. Thankfully, Instagram includes a feature that sends you a notification whenever they post.

Head to the profile in question, tap the three dots in the top left corner and select "Turn on Post Notifications." That's it.

See what your friends are liking


Have you ever wondered what kind of photos the people you follow are liking? Instagram has a built-in feature, located in the "Activity" tab, that allows a clear view of what people are liking and when.

Simply go to "Activity" and scroll left to the "Following" tab.
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New York: Not allowed to use Facebook at work? That may change in near future as Facebook at Work - designed specifically for communicating with colleagues - comes along.



The tool has been in beta since January, but the pilot programme is ending, and the company is likely to launch a freemium version of the interoffice network by the end of the year, Re/code reported project head Julien Codorniou as saying.

Facebook has been using a version of Facebook at Work internally for years. 

More than 100 companies are using Facebook at Work as part of the beta. Many of those companies are just now starting to expand the product internally. 

Heineken, a leading lager beer company, for example, has been testing the product with just 40 of its top executives, but plans to expand Facebook at Work to all 550 US employees by the end of September. 

Linio, a Latin American e-commerce company, is expanding the product internally from 200 to 2,000 employees by the end of the month.

Facebook may cash in on the "familiarity". "If somebody comes into the company, they know how to use this tool from day one. So training cost is zero. That’s important,” Ryan Holmes, CEO of Hootsuite, which is part of the beta group, was quoted as saying.

Facebook will need to convince employers that green-lighting Facebook use among the staff won’t result in a loss of productivity.

"It is unrealistic that organisations try to lock people out of social. It is like telling people that they can’t have their own personal phone,” Holmes noted.
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The Moto X Play was announced right about the same time as the OnePlus 2, but we didn't know that the two devices would eventually go up against each other in the midrange market segment.



Motorola has announced the Moto X Play in India at Rs 18,499 and Rs 19,999 for the 16 and 32GB models respectively. The OnePlus 2 on the other hand costs Rs 24,999 for the 64GB model, which is relatively steep compared to the Motorola offering.

So how do the two "flagship killer" smartphones fare against each other? Let's have a look.




As you can see from the comparison chart above, the OnePlus 2 seems to be lagging behind in terms of the storage expansion options, camera (debatable) as well as the battery capacity. The Moto X Play features a less powerful Snapdragon 615 processor which is used in midrange devices, but barring this, we don't see a lot of game changing negatives here.




The Moto X Play can be purchased exclusively from e-commerce retailer Flipkart, while the OnePlus 2 is an invite-only product and an exclusive with Amazon India. There's a price difference of Rs 6,500 between the base model of the Moto X Play and the OnePlus 2, which is quite a lot when you think about it.
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The samurai of old are widely regarded as being among the best warriors that ever lived, and with good reason. Although those days are long gone, the Japanese people are still keeping their traditions alive to some extent, which is why you can still see sword masters wielding katanas even today. However, times are quickly changing and it seems that even the most skilled human swordsmen around have a hard time competing against the samurai robot built by Yaskawa. If you’ve been paying attention to the latest technological advancements you probably already know that highly advanced humanoid robots are still several years away, however, the samurai robot in question doesn’t actually need a full body because it can apparently outperform a sword master with just one arm.



In what the company calls the Yaskawa Bushido Project, Machii went through a number of traditional Iaijutsu challenges as a sensor-studded suit tracked his movements. The MH24 Motoman manufacturing robot monitored and copied every bit of his posture, form, and gesturing, from his arm and sword placement to his head and leg position..
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What you didn’t know about your brain?

We all know, that brain is one of the most important things that we have in our body. Without brain we won’t be able to breath and live. The brain is an organthat serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and mostinvertebrate animals. Only a few invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, adult sea squirts and starfish do not have a brain; diffuse or localized nerve nets are instead of brain.These are facts that are well known, but what about the tings that are not so well known?

Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. We gathered 15 awesome facts about brain, that you had no idea about!


1. Lack of oxygen in your brain for 5-10 minutes leads to permanent damage of the brain.

2. Brain grows till the age of 40.

3. Every time you make a memory, a new neuron connections are created.

4. Brain uses up to 20% of all oxygen and all blood in your body.

5. There is a virus that can attack your DNA and it will make you less intelligent. It also affects ability to learn and memory.



Parts of the human brain

6. When you are awake, you brain can create enough electricity to light up small bulb.

7. Violence has the same effect on children’s brain as soldiers who are in war.

8. 60% of brain is fat.

9. Strict diet can cause brain to be hungry and it will start “eating” itself.

10. Brain has got similar consistency to tofu.

11. Forgetting things is very good. If you forget unnecessary things you help your brain be better form.

12. Alcohol causes your brain to lose ability to create memories and thoughts.

13. Sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia – that is the science term for “ice-cream headache”.

14. It is myth that both, left and right, hemispheres don’t work together. They are connected.

15. Half of human brain can be taken out without any permanent damage on personality and memory.
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Pledging allegiance to the international flag of Earth could become worldwide practice.





Oskar Pernefeld, a soon-to-be-graduate from Beckmans College of Designin Stockholm, started a new project, where he designed the official flag ofEarth. He places it in scenes from around the world and of course, even beyond.






The design of the flag of Earth is very simple. It was created from 7 rings on a deep sea blue background. The rings form a flower in the middle. Simple, yet effective, the flag represents the natural beauty of the Earth.



On his official website, Oskar said that the blue background representswater. And we all know that water is essential for life and also ocean covers most of out planet’s surface. The outside of the flower is also a circle. This could represent a symbol of the Earth and the blue could also representuniverse.
If you cannot imagine flag of earth in use, Oskar created some pictures with the flag of the Earth inside. The flag could be part of an astronaut’s space suit, waved at sporting events or even displayed outside of your house.








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Fighter jets may soon take enemies out of the sky using laser weapons. “That day is a lot closer than I think a lot of people think it is,” said U.S. Air Force General Hawk Carlisle at this week’s 2015 Air Force Association Air & Space conference.






Speaking at a presentation about what Carlisle calls “Fifth-Generation Warfare,” he told Ars Technica that the Air Force is looking for something like a laser cannon that can be mounted on fighter aircraft and other manned planes within the next five years. These “directed-energy pods” placed on aircraft could, ideally, stop enemy aircraft, drones, and missiles at a lower “cost per shot” than current missiles and guns.


Not to be outdone, the U.S. Navy’s Laser Weapon System (LaWS) was shown off to the world at the end of last year. It uses a “directed energy weapon” to defend ships from drones, small boats, and submarines. Once locked on, the 30-kilowatt blast beam that’s about 2-3 nanometers in diameter burns up the target quickly.


Lockheed Martin also showed off its laser weapon earlier this year in a demonstration that burned through the running engine of a small truck in just seconds.

The Air Force’s laser weapon will likely be based on HELLADS, a 150-plus-kilowatt system in development by General Atomics and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Air Force leaders think the system, now in ground-based testing, could yield field-ready weapons by 2020.

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Facebook vice president for mobile and global access policy Kevin Martin at the India Economic Convention 2015 said that the social-networking giant was planning to launch a special Wi-Fi service in India which would aid in subsidising the cost of accessing internet.




He added that Facebook's connectivity lab has been working with drones and unmanned aerial vehicles to lower the cost of service to people without infrastructure.

"We are rolling out a kind of Wi-Fi service at a lower cost which is trying to adjust cost issue in other countries and looking out to do that in India," Martin said at the convention.

Martin added that Facebook's internet service would come without advertisement and videos thereby claiming lesser bandwidth and benefiting users.

He also reiterated that the social networking giant supports the concept of net neutrality and internet.org initiative was to enable people to realise the importance of Internet by providing access to basic web service free of data cost.
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While there is no “official” word from Samsung about the company working on a smartphone with a folding display, new rumours keep piling up month after month. Indeed, this indicates that the Korean smartphone maker is cooking up something that could be ready just in time for the Mobile World Congress next year.

Yes, news coming from a leakster via his Weibo account claims that Samsung is indeed working on a folding smartphone with a display that actually folds to change its form. The same source also mentions that the smartphone will be ready by January 2016 as well.

Dubbed ‘Project V’ or Project Valley, the smartphone has been showing up time and again, in the rumour mill since June this year.






What’s more is that the leaker actually has some more details about this device.

According to him, Samsung is testing the smartphone using both the Snapdragon 620 and the Snapdragon 820. We still do not know whether there will be two models, but the smartphone is said to come with 3 GB of RAM. The display of course is expected to be one of those bendable OLED displays (like the one below) that Samsung has been showing off for years.






Looks like folding displays are finally ready for show time. However, coming up with unique hardware ideas isn’t enough these days. We are pretty sure that Samsung’s UX team is scratching their heads to figure out how they can make the best use of the folding display.
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Just three years ago, Rs 15,000 budget for a smartphone would not even get you smartphone with a proper autofocus camera.



Today, thanks to the competition in the Indian market, there are now, plenty of options. Some coming from Indian smartphone brands and many coming international ones as well. While there are plenty of choices with varying hardware options, it is indeed the best combination of hardware, optimised software and features that makes for the perfect budget smartphone.



Below is our top list of Rs 15,000 smartphones. These not only deliver when it comes to good camera performance, but some all-rounders that are good at everything considering the price tags that they retail for.










5.Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML: Rs 14,999

Asus has a got a lot of things right with its Zenfone 2 range this year, the only problem is that its Intel chops don’t have enough gusto when it comes to gaming. Still then the rest of the package seems like a great deal and even with all the Asus customisations (Zen UI), keeps the smartphone running super smooth. However, buying this smartphone purely for its camera, may not be a great idea.






4. Lenovo Vibe X2: Rs 15,490

The Lenovo Vibe X2 is certainly a stunner and looks premium with its layered sandwiched design. What you also get inside is a brisk MediaTek 6595M chipset with a Full HD display, 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal storage. What it lacks is a UI that somehow seems unfinished at best. You also get some handy Vibe attachments that you can attach to your smartphone.





3.Samsung J7: Rs 14,999

Samsung’s J series really has a lot going for it. It may not have the best camera performance in this listing, but everything else, including that beautiful Full HD Super AMOLED display, is pretty much the best you can get in this range. We will warn you about Samsung’s Hybrid SIM and SD card slot though, you can only use one of them at a time.






2.Motorola Moto G (3rd Gen): Rs 12,999

The design is tried and tested and the same can be said about its internals, but the Moto G3 does come with a few upgrades over its predecessor that make it a great yet simple smartphone. If you are new to Android, this indeed is your best choice to get your Android basics right. Its software is almost bloatware-free and you get a water resistant splash-proof coating on it as well. There is really a good reason why this smartphone is out of stock while the rest on this list are easily available.






1.Xiaomi Mi 4i (32 GB): Rs 14,999



The Xiaomi Mi 4i makes it to the top of this list, simply because it offers a lot more than anyone else, and does everything better as well. From the crisp Full HD display, to the Snapdragon 615 tucked inside, down to the 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB internal storage, it not only settles the value for money problem, but also offers enough horsepower for Android gaming, apps, multi-tasking and a lot more. Oh, and did we mention that Rs 14,999 price tag?
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Windows Phone fans rejoice! As Microsoft has finally set a date for the launch of their Cityman, Talkman smartphones and more. The event takes place in New York City, USA at 730 PM IST.

Seems like Windows 10 Mobile may also see a launch on the same day (or soon after it) as announcing new smartphones without a new OS makes little sense.

Indeed, this is more so in Microsoft’s case who is now focussed on software more than hardware.

It has been a long time since some worthy Windows Phone flagship devices were launched. The last we saw coming out of Microsoft’s stable was the Lumia 930 and the low-cost flagship, the Lumia 830.





Windows Phone fans who are currently running hardware that is two to three generations old will finally get respite with the expected Lumia 950 and 950 XL flagship smartphones.

While they clearly don’t look the part (no, we are not complaining about the plastic bits) they could have come up with some better designs indeed. Some may find them hideous while others beautiful. In short, there is nothing iconic about them, like the Lumia 1020.


The bottom line is, that they come with updated hardware (Snapdragon 810 and the 808) and hopefully the best camera bits Microsoft can offer. With the updated hardware comes support for Windows 10 features like Continuum and more.

Also expected is the Surface 4 Pro with the latest Intel Skylake chips and the Microsoft Band 2.


Windows fans have waited a long time for this, so there better be something good on the other side. Clearly, it is Windows 10 Mobile at stake out here.
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Indian government is finally set to launch the latest version of its own operating system dubbed as the Bharat Operating System Solutions, also known as BOSS.




The operating system which was originally developed in 2007 by National Resource Centre for Free/Open Source Software is now said to have been developed along with Gujarat Technical University, DRDO and a few private computer geeks being involved.

However, the latest version of BOSS which is developed by C-DAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing) will be unveiled this week.


Certified by the Linux Foundation, the new operating system is said to come with powerful security features and will be able to protect from countless attacks by hackers.


Along with this, the new OS also comes in line with the Digital India movement and Make in India initiatives.

It is being said that the new OS comes with a virtual keyboard on the display screen itself and a bulk file converter which ensures a safe and speedy transfer of data.


Also, it is being said that new OS was able to withstand the activities by Army Intelligence who tried to break it but in vein.


The new OS comes with almost all the features of Microsoft Windows and at the same time is completely secured and easy to use.


The Indian operating system will be supporting 18 languages including regional languages such as Kannada, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati and Malayalam to name a few.

Having said this, the new OS is expected to replace Microsoft Windows for official use pretty soon and also in the near future, it is expected to partner with big institutions and companies to make this new OS available to every user.
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Motorola has finally pushed out its much-awaited Moto X Play on sale. The smartphone is a mid-ranger and comes with better hardware chops than the competition. But it is the price that will see many flocking to get their hands on one.



And they are flocking indeed. It has just been 10 hours since the sale began and the 32 GB black model is already out of stock.
The Motorola Moto X Play is a real contender and comes out strong when compared to smartphones like the OnePlus One, the Mi 4 and even the ASUS Zenfone 2 Laser.

Hardware aside, the smartphone comes with an almost stock Android Lollipop software and also includes with a water-repellent coating. The metal frame also gives the construction a premium look.

Coming to the specs of the Moto X Play:

We get a 5.5 inch Full HD display with a layer of Gorilla Glass 3 to protect it
            
  • Inside, we get a 1.7 GHz, octa-core, Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 SoC with 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB / 32 GB internal storage options along with expandable memory as well. 
  • There is a 21 MP camera with a dual tone LED flash on the back and a 5 MP front-facing unit for selfies .
  • Connectivity options include 4G LTE bands, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0.
  • All of the above is encased in a metal frame with replaceable (colourful) back panels along with a massive 3630 mAh battery

The handset is currently available on sale, online on Flipkart. The Moto X Play is can be purchased in black and white models with 16 and 32 GB internal storage options at Rs 18,499 and Rs 19,999 respectively. The Moto X Play also makes for a good mid-ranger for those looking for an upgrade to their existing Moto G handsets as well.

Courtesy :abplive
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Ah! Where do I begin with the new iPhone 6s. As i watched the unveiling of Apple’s newest ‘s’ iPhone I could not help but notice the amount of work that’s gone into Apple’s newest iPhone.

In fact, it is the best ‘s’ iPhone that Apple has ever built and this is not because it comes with hardware that is twice as powerful as the previous generation, but because it has brought something new to iOS and the smartphone in a sensible way. Still then, that does not mean you rush to to buy it when it reaches India.



3D Touch

The iPhone 6s simply did not impress until 3D Touch was demoed.

While it did look like a long-press that is available on Android and Windows Phone and iOS platforms, it is anything but that. Think of it more as a right click. A chance to peek into details before you get there and not just Peek, but Pop and preview it as well.

The technology is really impressive, the combination of a capacitive display with resistive-like features, where the screen actually flexes (very, very little) to know when to deliver quick short cuts.



No this is not a gimmicky long press. The reason why Apple used 3D Touch on the iPhone 6s was because a long-press actually takes a “long time” to enable a feature.

The work around is 3D Touch. A display that detects varying levels of pressure. So if you want to see more options from an icon on your home screen, simply press it a bit harder (for an instant pop up with options) instead of pressing down the icon with your finger and waiting like a fool.

Getting to your slow-mo camera will not need you to open the camera first, but just press harder and get straight to it when it opens up. For those of you who were wondering, the new display is the sole reason why Apple cannot include the same gestures in iOS 9 for other iDevices.


Problems
Still then 3D Touch has a long way to go. There is a learning curve, even though it is a gradual one. The feature needs developer support. And while Apple has that responsive developer support, it will still be hard for many to customise apps for the same. This is because not all iPhones will support the feature, just the new iPhone 6s models and not even the new iPad Pro. So the reason for developers to opt in for 3D Touch right now are very few.



It will take the iPhone 7 for developers to be confident about 3D Touch.

I am an iPhone 6 Plus owner and there is no ways I am giving away my smartphone for a 6s Plus simply to use 3D Touch. It is something I can do without until every other iPhone out there begins to support it (and mine does not).

3D Touch is not the only way to use an iPhone and that it what makes it “just another way” to use your iPhone. This itself makes it an extra feature and not a necessity, killing its purpose.


The iPhone 7 will utilize 3D touch better
In short 3D touch will impress you no matter where you are coming from. But if it is the only reason for you to buy the iPhone 6s, we would suggest you wait for the iPhone 7 instead.

It will make more sense when the ecosystem adopts the technology rather than be an early adopter who stands out for no reason (the demo only showed off Instagram and native apps).

The iPhone 5/5s owner should however find the iPhone 6s a worthwhile bump. And he clearly does not mind being an early adopter because there is a lot else to benefit from (hardware).

3D touch is the Apple’s answer to the long press. A right click for your mobile phone’s UI that works instantaneously and not a millisecond later. It will be a revolution, not now, but on the iPhone 7 when many have already upgraded to an iPhone 6s, and Apple makes 3D Touch the only way to use an iOS device.


Courtesy : abplive
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Buoyed by strong sales of Moto G and Moto E smartphones, handset maker Motorola has sold 2.6 million units in India over the last seven months.






The US-based company, which re-entered the Indian market in February last year, has also launched a new smartphone -- Moto X Play in the Indian market for Rs 18,499.

"We have received a fabulous response from the Indian market. It continues to be an important market for us. We have till date sold 5.6 million units, of which 2.6 million came in the February-August period. A bulk of the sales were Moto G and Moto E," Motorola India General Manager Amit Boni told PTI.

He, however, declined to comment on contribution from the various devices.Since the re-entry, Motorola has introduced the Moto E (two generations), Moto G (three generations), Moto X and the Moto 360 smartwatch in India exclusively through e-commerce firm Flipkart.

Motorola had stopped sales of its products in India after being acquired by Google in 2012, but came back after its acquisition by Lenovo with the launch of the Moto G in February last year.

Talking about Moto X Play, Boni said the device offers customers the best-in-class cameras, all-day battery, water-repellent design, meaningful software experiences and personalisation options.

The 4G-enabled Moto X Play will be available at Rs 18,499 for 16GB version and Rs 19,999 for 32GB. It has 5.5-inch display, 2GB RAM, 1.7 GHz octa core Snapdragon processor, 21MP rear and 5MP front camera and 3,630 mAh battery.

According to research firm IDC, 26.5 million smartphones were shipped to India in the second quarter of 2015, up 44 per cent from 18.4 million units for the same period last year.

Lenovo group (Lenovo and Motorola) had 6 per cent share of the Indian smartphone market in the period.



Courtesy :abplive
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We are all very much aware about the new much talked about iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus which was launched recently in the United States.





While the new iPhone comes with a much similar design, it also boasts a couple of few features which are said to be new in the Apple lineage.

However, many of the such new features in iPhone 6S and 6S Plus have apparently been seen already in many smartphones earlier.

Here is a list of 5 such features which actually look to have been borrowed from others.

1. 3D Touch





3D Touch is something that Apple is boasting about a lot recently which allows users to perform different actions based on the pressure of their touch on the display screen. Suppose, for example, if you touch a little deeper, an advanced menu would open up and if you simply tap lightly on the screen, the app itself would open up. While this feature is in the talks for quite a time now, we recently saw a similar force based touch feature on the Huawei Mate S which was launched at IFA 2015.



2. Live Photo




iPhone 6S comes with a new camera trick where in the smartphone camera actually captures a little before and after you click on the 'Capture' button. This means that it looks more like an animated image or to express it in more simpler words, the output may be much like a GIF image. However, if you recall, the feature has been always there on Microsoft's Lumia phones as 'Living Image'. Also, the feature has been long known in HTC smartphones as HTC Zoe which captures 3.6 seconds snippets and 20 photos with 6 frames per second.

3. 4K Video Recording




4K video recording is as we all know the latest trends that's catching up with smartphone owners and definitely, iPhone 6S is not the first smartphone capable of recording in 4K. However, iPhone 6S and 6S Plus are the first devices to have this feature in an Apple lineage. But, if we look at a couple of flagship Android phones like Sony Xperia Z3 andLG G3 supported this feature as early as 2014. Also, the recently launched Sony Xperia Z5 Premium supports 4K video recording.


4. Retina Flash




While new Apple iPhones come with 5 MP front camera for better selfies, they do lack in a front flash. However, with the iPhone 6S, Apple has come up with a solution to snap selfies at dark by making screen three times brighter. This acts much like a flash while clicking a selfie. After the photo is taken, the display brightness comes back to normal. This is what Apple calls as Retina Flash. However, this is not a new feature. There have been many apps for Android smartphones like Front Flash which work in almost similar way - setting the screen brightness to maximum and capturing the selfie.



5. Aerospace Grade Aluminium






Why iPhone 6S and 6S Plus are said to be made using a new 7000 series of Aluminium material that is aerospace industry graded. However, this is not the first time the aerospace-grade aluminium is being in a smartphone. Many companies have been using this for quite a while now, especially the Chinese companies like CoolPad. The recent Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge flagship phones are known to have used the aerospace-grade aluminium material.



Courtesy : abplive
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Chinese handset-maker Gionee seems all geared up for a bigger bite of the Indian smartphone apple as it speeds up launches in the second half of 2015 along with confirming a $50 million investment to contract manufacture phones with electronics manufacturing services provider Foxconn and Dixon. The company released the new F103 smartphone on Sep 1 priced at Rs.10,399. Here is our analysis:

What is good?


The phone has a simple yet a very eye-pleasing design and is extremely light. The two-tone metal-plastic body gives the phone a fresh look. The protruding shiny metal edge of the phone is the difference maker.


The five-inch HD display with a 320 ppi pixel density is quite bright and produces sharp images with no problems in viewing angles. The rear eight-megapixel camera with LED flash performs fairly well. The five-megapixel front camera performs excellently under well-lit conditions.

The system-on-a-chip (SoC) of a 64-bit 1.3 GHz quad-core processor and a 2GB RAM unit is a good performer. No lags were experienced while switching between apps or two or more casual games.

The phone comes with some good pre-loaded apps and tools which can take care of day-to- day normal usage. Gionee has added a user feedback app that will work out well for its loyal fans. It runs Amigo OS on top of Android Lollipop.

The phone also comes with dual-SIM 4G LTE support, which means users can enjoy 4G experience from two service providers. The F103 also has an impressive battery backup from a 2,400 mAH battery which many would scoff at.

In terms of storage, the phone comes with 9.18 GB available internal memory which is expandable to 32 GB. Another advantage is that it supports USB on-the-go (OTG) so users can plug-in their memory devices to share or enjoy content on the phone.

Gionee also provides the OTG cable, a plastic cover and screen guard for the phone in the box. This is a positive for Gionee as most brands have reduced their size of phone boxes drastically and also aren't providing headphones for their devices.



What doesn't work for the phone?

In terms of the camera, the rear unit loses out on quality in dark or semi-dark conditions. The front camera could have been accompanied with a flash but the price would creep up a little bit as well.

With the option of a 2GB RAM, the phone is incapable of handling heavy games without getting heated up. It lags after exiting a heavy game. The Mali720 GPU is an entry-level processor in its family and is not good for high-ram, battery-consuming games.

Interestingly or unfortunately, the phone consumes nearly 58 percent of its RAM while just running the operating system (OS) which means Gionee has to focus on its Amigo OS, which still has a long way to go in terms of usage by Indian consumers. There is no particular filtered content for Indians. In terms of pre-loaded games, users might feel that all of them are bloatware as they are all demo versions.

Verdict: The specifications of the device are so similar to that of the numerous phones from rivals that consumers are bound to be confused. In our opinion, the phone is a good an option as any other brand to own in the same price segment.
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Twitter is invading the privacy of its users by reading their private messages, according to a new lawsuit.

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The tools the site uses to redirect links mean that it is effectively reading and altering messages sent by its users, according to a lawsuit brought by Californian Wilford Raney.

When a user sends a message in a direct message, Twitter automatically recognises it and redirects it into a short link. Even though that link will appear as if it is going to the actual website (shortening a link for this website to ind.pn, for instance) it will first redirect a users’ browser to go to its own website, and then sends them on to the requested page.

"Before Twitter delivers the message to the intended recipient, Twitter intercepts and accesses the contents of the message. The moment the consumer clicks Send, Twitter's service will open, scan, and potentially alter the contents of the message," Raney argues in his filing. Twitter gather information on what links people are sharing and where they are going, according to the suit.

“Twitter benefits immensely from replacinguser hyperlinks with its own,” Raney writes in his suit. “For instance, Twitter increases its perceived value to third-party websites and would-be advertisers” since they will know what addresses users are heading to. “The end result is that Twitter can negotiate better advertising rates.”

The shortening tool thus reads through messages but “never obtains (or seeks) its users’ consent”, the suit says. It is for that reason that Raney is bringing the case, he says, encouraging others to join in with the proceedings.

Twitter said in a statement that the claims “are meritless” and that it intends to “fight them”.


Courtesy :INDEPENDENT.co.uk
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It might look like a kayak on its side, but that vehicle above has just broken the human-powered land speed record. The pilot, Todd Reichert, managed 85.71mph in his "Eta" speedbike on Thursday morning, comfortably besting the previous record of 83.13. Reichert is the pilot for team AeroVelo, and is competing in the World Human Powered Speed Challenge, taking place in Battle Mountain, NV this week. The WHPSC is basically where cyclists put their knees where their mouth is, and attempt to beat the record for pedal-powered speed. The 16th event of its kind, cyclists have a 5-mile run-up to gain speed, before hitting a 200 meter speed trap on a stretch of road hand-picked for its flatness. The magic 200 meter stretch was even specially repaved with the annual event in mind.

If you were to describe what the team at AeroVelo does, "human-powered world firsts" would be a fair answer. The team's Snowbird ornithopter (flapping wing craft) managed a world-first 19-second self sustained flight in 2010. In 2013, the crew would bag the coveted Sikorsky prize, which required a controlled human-powered helicopter to fly for one minute. The land speed record, therefore, was the next logical prize. The record may have been broken, but with the event running for two more days, Reichert and the other competitors aren't done yet -- there's still chance it might be broken again before the weekend is out. In the meantime, you can see the team's efforts from last year below.
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Golf courses, landfills, and parka pockets become unlikely power sources with the advent of smarter solar.



Solar installations like this one on Sakasamaike Pond in Kasai, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, are redefining the idea of what makes good real estate for sun power. 

Breathtaking desert expanses of panels and mirrors mark solar energy's growth, but renewables' next wave won't be confined to dusty no-man's-land. As researchers find new ways to make solar smaller, see-through, and sticky, virtually any surface under the sun is fair game for clean power.


Solar photovoltaic capacity is already expanding widely and expected to more than triple in the next 10 years, according to a recent report. (See surprising countries where wind and solar are booming.) Here are some of the less conventional ways this growth could happen.


Parkas and Other Wearables


In the future, you might not have to hunt for phone-charging power on the go; instead, you could be wearing it. Solar-powered watches have been around for decades. Now a number of companies are planting panels on everything from Swarovski-encrusted fitness trackers to this parka that debuted Friday, which features a solar pocket that Dutch designer Pauline van Dongen says can charge a smartphone within two hours. For now, at least, prototype designs like van Dongen's parkas are hard to come by, but solar backpack options abound.



A golf course in Japan, forced to close in the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, is now the site of a solar array. 
PHOTOGRAPH BY THE ASAHI SHIMBUN, GETTY IMAGES


Obsolete Golf Courses



Waning interest in golf has forced many courses to close, but what's bad news for the sport is potentially good news for solar developers seeking open real estate in densely populated places such as Japan. There, at least four solar plants are planned on abandoned golf courses.


"Solar can provide a particularly productive and environmentally friendly use for defunct golf courses," the Kyoto-based solar system maker Kyocera says of one project on its website, noting the "expansive land mass, high sun exposure, and a low concentration of shade trees."



An Idaho couple poses in front of a prototype for their Solar Roadways concept. 
PHOTOGRAPH BY SOLAR ROADWAYS


Roads and Paths



The 2014 emergence of Solar Roadways, an Idaho couple's bid to replace asphalt with solar panels, drew massive attention—their promotional videohas 20 million views on YouTube—and no shortage of skepticism. While that concept remains in development, solar pavers are appearing elsewhere.



RECENT ENERGY NEWS


On the outskirts of Amsterdam, the 100-meter (328-foot) SolaRoad, covered partly in photovoltaic cells topped with tempered glass, generated 3,000 kilowatt hours of electricity between October 2014, when it opened, and May 2015. The amount is small—close to a third of what one average U.S. home would typically use in a year—but it's more than the company expected and signals promise for future applications.


On the Water


Panels can float, too. Installations sit atop wastewater at a treatment plant in southern Australia and a reservoir east of Tokyo, Japan. The latter array, which is set to be completed in spring of 2016 and will generate enough electricity to power nearly 5,000 households, is made up of panels designed to withstand corrosion. The panels also underwent tests simulating high wind conditions, in case extreme weather strikes. Read more about waterborne solar and the Japanese plant here.




Solar panels perch on 13 acres of landfill in Kearny, New Jersey. 
PHOTOGRAPH BY ARISTIDE ECONOMOPOULOS, STAR LEDGER, CORBIS


Brownfields and Landfills



Sites that once held garbage or toxic waste now have new potential as renewable energy powerhouses. The town of Bridgeport, Connecticut, for example, plans to put 9,000 solar panels on an old landfill, creating 2.2 megawatts of electric capacity. (Read about how this plan sparked a fight among environmentalists of different stripes.)


In New Jersey, a brownfield that was home to a gas plant is now a solar farm than can power 170 homes.
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