Xiaomi is on a roll! It has been coming out with devices one after another, this time unveiling the 40-inch Xiaomi Mi TV 2, a smart TV to liven to complement all your other smart devices. With an abundance of feature rich TV sets already in the market, this might seem like a pushover, but the Mi TV2 comes with spectacular functionality to back it up. At only $320, it is a smart TV unlike most others. 
A 1080p full HD screen provides excellent picture clarity while a slim, thin14.5mm frame gives it a sleek, gorgeous look. The powerful Mali 450 M4 GPU makes for a great viewing and gaming experience. This TV also comes integrated with an Android MIUI based entertainment system that enables the user to play games, watch HD videos and movies, listed to music and even surf the internet.
Here is a full list of specification that comprise this new smart tv: - 40″ full HD LED Sharp SDP X-GEN panel display with 5000:1 contrast ratio
- 1.45GHz quad core MStar 6A908 Cortex-A9 processor
- Mali-450 MP4 4+2 core GPU
- Android 4.4 OS overlaid with MIUI TV (Lollipop update expected soon)
- 1.5GB RAM
- 8GB storage
- H.265 10-bit hardware video decoder
- Dolby MS12 virtual surround sound
The video decoder supports H.265, H.264, MPEG4 and REAL as well as FLV, MKV, MOV, MP4, MOV, TS and AVI video formats while the surround sound technology provides unmatched sound clarity. The TV is being released only in China at the moment with an India launch expected soon; the official launch date has been set for March 31. Just like a smartphone, it will be available in a variety of coloured rear casings. This new TV is a budget version of the earlier 49″ panel of 4K Android-based smart TV released last year at $645. 
The new TV launch comes in the wake of a recent announcement by the China-based company which vowed to spend $1 billion to expand its internet-based TV content. In its own home country, this has set it against local internet companies which are also increasingly investing in internet-TV. No tag for this post. Facebook dropped a couple of bombs on the first day of its annual F8 Developer conference in San Francisco yesterday. Not only did it open up the Messenger service for developers to build apps, 9 brand new features and a couple of updates were also launched. 
The biggest announcements pertained to Messenger which is expected to feature a collection of 40 popular apps over the next few days which can be shared or exchanged with contacts. While developers can add basic features to ensure compatibility with Messenger, Facebook with pre-approve the apps that request integration with Messenger. Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg took the stage and made it clear that “This is just the first step towards creating better sharing experiences across this whole family of apps.” He also said, “We're really excited about what you all are able to do with these fast and simple tools we are rolling out.”
David Marcus, Facebook’s head of messaging products added, “The new Messenger apps are meant to improve conversations between users.” 
Henceforth the Messenger service will not only serve as a chatting and messaging service but also as a platform for consumers to directly interact with e-commerce sites and retailers. Explaining it to the audience Marcus said, “Purchases can be made by sending a message, provided the store has the consumer’s payment information.” The Messenger service itself will have two major updates: 1. Apps on Messenger Since Messenger has been opened to developers, we will be seeing a lot more of third-party apps within the service itself. Users will also be able to create, copy-paste, and send memes and gifs to friends and family without going out of Messenger. There will be apps for e-commerce, video sharing, sports clips and a variety of others including weather updates. 
2. Messenger for Enterprises This will allow users to track their online purchases, shipping times, delivery information etc in real time and also interact with the relevant companies from Messenger itself which will be integrated into a selection of e-commerce sites. With this, businesses will be able to send notifications about the shipments and purchases in Messenger. However, despite the recently announced in-app payment system (read our earlier article), there is no official news about a full-fledged payment gateway. 
Apart from these, here is an overview of new features and updates announced yesterday: 1. Spherical Videos The new, rejuvenated Facebook (after acquiring Oculus) is all set to support 3D or spherical videos, shot with multiple or 360 degree cameras, in Newsfeed. This includes not only videos but also Google Street view. People will be able to pan around a 360 degree video with their mouse or click and drag the screen to adjust the viewing angle and perspective; and if you use a VR headset, you can enjoy an immersive experience. 
2. LiveRail This money-minting service was earlier acquired by Facebook to encourage more video ads by offering ad space to companies. Now LiveRail will not only provide support for mobile ads, but it can also customize the ad according to the Facebook data retrieved from the user’s newsfeed and account. 
3. Analytics for Apps This is a free tool that will enable developers to evaluate detailed information about app usage across different devices and design enhancements and strategize accordingly. A dashboard will also display information about people who spend money on various apps. 
4. Parse This too is a new tool aimed at Internet of Things; a set of SDKs supposedly aimed at programmers and developers to help them build apps for connected devices. Example, you might be able to connect to and control your doors from a Facebook app. 
5. Comments synced in Real time Comments made on other sites and blog posts will henceforth be synced and displayed on Facebook in real time if made through Facebook. For instance, if someone comments on your site or blog post, it will show up immediately and allow other commenters to engage with you both on Facebook and on the site itself. Your comments on shared posts will be similarly synced and shown. 
6. Embed Facebook Videos on other Sites This eliminates the need to share videos by linking or embed the entire post (currently the whole post has to be shared along with the video). Videos uploaded on Facebook, with the privacy level set to public, will generate embed codes which can be placed on other websites. 
7. App Invites This will streamline app invitations allowing people to share apps seamlessly by sending invites and encouraging app installations. The invites will be displayed in a separate section on the account rather than cluttering the Newsfeed. 
8. Facebook share sheet Aimed mainly at developers, this can be integrated into third-party apps for tagging friends or sharing content to Messenger groups from the third-party app itself. This means that any content can be directly shared from an integrated third-party app, no need to cut-copy-paste it to Facebook or Messenger. 
With this, it seems that Facebook is looking to consolidate its position as a social media ecosystem rather than just a networking site. No tag for this post. In a possible bid to go head to head with Samsung’s Galaxy S6 and iPhone 6, Asus has come out with its own version of a high-end smartphone - the ZenFone2 – a flagship Asus smartphone which is expected to debut in the Indian market soon. 
Earlier revealed at the CES 2015 held in Las Vegas, according to Asus India country manager Peter Chang, the phone is expected to arrive sometime between April and June.
According to a supposed company source, "ASUS to yet again disrupt the Indian Smartphone market soon with Zenfone 2. Taking on Samsung S6 & Apple's recent launches, the device features 2.3GHz Intel Atom processor with 4GB RAM. No waiting for flash sales or invitations as Zenfone is for all." 
A 3.3mm bezel gives it an almost edge to edge display. The phone comes with most of the hardware available on premium smartphones, such as a full HD display and a powerful processor and GPU to drive it. It has similar specs as Xiaomi, Micromax's Yu and OnePlus. The new 4G compatible ZenPhone2 comes with a 178 degree wide viewing angle and OpenGL 3.0 for enjoyable gaming experience. The in-built security is Trend Micro and there is even a fast-recharging feature to reduce charging time.  A full list of the tech is given below:
- 5.5-inch IPS (1920 x 1080)p full HD display
- 64-bit 2.3GHz quad core Intel Atom Z3580
- PowerVR G6430 GPU
- Corning Gorilla Glass 3
- Android 5.0 Lollipop with Asus ZenUI
- Dual-SIM with Dual Active mode
- 2GB/4GB RAM
- 16GB/32GB storage expandable up to 64GB
- 13MP rear camera and 5MP front
- 4G/LTE compatible, Wi-Fi
- 3000mAh
There is no word yet of the pricing for this new phone, but reports say that it will be sold exclusively on Flipkart at a higher price than the current ZenPhones. Sources from the company have also confirmed that there will be “no waiting for flash sales or invitations.” We will keep you posted as and when the pricing details appear. The phone will be available in 5 colours – Osmium Black, Sheer Gold, Glacier Gray, Glamor Red and Ceramic White. No tag for this post. Google is Google and this time, they are testing out a new feature supposedly called Pony Express which, if it is successful will allow Gmail users to pay their bills from within their email account without going to external websites like a telecom or utility company’s website. 
As per a report, Pony Express "is designed to let people pay their bills within Gmail, rather than having to go to a telecom or utility company's website to complete a payment." Google however did not provide any official comment. People using the Pony Service will be able to settle and clear their bills directly from Gmail either with Google Wallet or with a new payment service, though that has yet to be announced. Wallet however does not yet allow Net banking and if the service launches, it could actually extend Wallet’s own features to include payments made from bank accounts. Pony Express will offer a link with bank account or debit card to allow payment. 
Google is not the first of its kind to offer in-mail e-billing services, but it certainly might make the payment process a lot easier since it will allow users to auto-organize their bills in a single Pony Express folder. The fun part is, you can not only pay the bills but also forward them to relevant people like spouses, roommates and friends to share the costs and expenses. Users wishing to avail this service will have to provide their personal information such as phone or credit card number in order for the service to actually work. The process of data identification whereby a user’s identity is registered however will probably be managed by a third party. After authentication, the bills will be sent to either Gmail or the new Inbox app (email app) by Google.  Experts suggest that the financial data that will be fed into Pony Express might allow for its expansion into newer businesses by providing clarity on how ads target users on Google, YouTube and partnering sites and using that data to customize and create user-friendly advertisements. It might also be a step forward for Google which aims to digitize the world.
What is not known is if the service will actually be named Pony Express or something else and also if it will be a revenue-generating service for the Mountain View based company. There is news however that the service is set to be rolled out in the fourth quarter. The service will come with a customer service contact in case of emergencies and a provision to take a screenshot of an email and archive its digital version in Pony Express. No tag for this post. More Recent Articles | 
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