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  Homegrown fitness accessory maker  Noise  recently launched a  smartwatch  called ColorFit Ultra, a feature-heavy budget  smartwatch  with impressive on-paper specifications. Priced at Rs 4,499,  Noise  ColorFit Ultra looks like a promising entry in the cluttered budget  smartwatch  market. I used the device for a little over a month to see how it stacks up against other budget wearables, here's my review: Noise  ColorFit Ultra: build and design The Noise ColorFit Ultra comes with a 1.75-inch TruView colour display with 320x385 pixel resolution. The display is large and crisp with punchy colours. The display is good but the touch response lags at times. However, it's still one of the best displays we have seen in this price range. While I had the blue unit, the watch also comes in white and black colour options. What I really liked is the extra Nylon strap you get in the package. I quickly removed the silicone straps as it ge...

   Alphabet unit  Google  on Tuesday said deals with  Android  phone makers that landed it a record 4.3-billion-euro ($5 billion) antitrust fine boosted competition and rejected EU charges they were a carrot-and-stick tactic that stifled rivals. Google  was addressing the second day of a week-long hearing as it tries to get Europe's second-highest court to annul the fine and a European Commission order to make it loosen its search engine grip on  Android  devices. Lawyers for  Google  and the EU competition executive clashed over the company's Mobile Application Distribution Agreements (MADAs) that require phone makers (OEMs) to pre-install the Google Search app and Chrome browser app in return for licensing Google Play for free. "This licensing model is what attracted OEMs to the  Android  platform, and what enabled those OEMs to offer a consistent and high-quality user experience at the lowest possible price," Google's l...

   Apple  is reportedly planning to start the mass production of an upcoming redesigned MacBook Air featuring powerful  Apple  silicon processor in the third quarter of 2022. The new MacBook Air will feature an entirely new design, including a mini-LED display and a more powerful  Apple  silicon processor, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, reports MacRumors. It will feature a "thinner and lighter" enclosure, two USB 4 ports, and a MagSafe charging connector. Rumours and leaks have proposed that the next MacBook Air could follow the 24-inch iMac in departing from the usual silver casing, in favour of a more colourful lineup. The report also points out that the rumour is about the 'M2' specifically, in that it is different from the 'M1X' that is "reserved for the Pro Mac devices". In February, it was claimed the 'M1X' would be an iteration of the M1, using 12 CPU cores instead of 8 and 16 GPU cores instead of 7 or 8, as well as a higher therma...

   By Nivedita Balu and Jeffrey Dastin (Reuters) -  Amazon. com Inc on Tuesday announced a household, canine-like robot called Astro and a deal with Walt  Disney  Co to imbue its voice-controlled tech in resort hotels, striving to make its virtual aide Alexa a bigger part of consumers' lives. The home robot is designed to take up tasks such as home monitoring, setting up routines and reminders, and can play music and TV shows while rolling around the house. The device, which has digital eyes on a rotating screen mounted on wheels, is available at an introductory invite-only price of $999.99 and regular price of $1,449.99. Among other launches in its latest lineup were a smart thermostat, smart display Echo Show 15 and a new health-tracking band called Halo View. The Echo Show 15 can be mounted on a wall and is powered with AZ2 Neural Edge, a processor that helps users personalize the screen. In its push to appeal to the next generation of customers - kids - the ...

   Microsoft  Corp said on Tuesday it will allow Epic Games Inc,  Amazon. com Inc and other firms to integrate their app stores into the technology giant's marketplace, giving more options to third-party developers. The Redmond, Washington-based company also said it would not take a cut from app developers' revenue, when the apps manage their own in-app payment systems. " Microsoft  is again leading the industry forward with Windows, now an open platform with an open store," Epic Games Chief Executive Officer Tim Sweeney tweeted. The move comes as Epic Games and Apple Inc have been locked in a legal dispute since last year when the "Fortnite" creator tried to get around Apple's 30% fee on some in-app purchases on the  App Store  by launching its own in-app payment system. Developers have long criticized Apple's commissions of between 15% and 30% on many  App Store  purchases, what some developers see as an opaque and unpredictable app-vetting...

    Short video-making platform  TikTok  has crossed one billion monthly active users around the world. The video-sharing platform, owned by ByteDance, said it had about 55 million global users by January 2018. That number grew to more than 271 million by December 2018 and 507 million by December 2019. "On behalf of the  TikTok  team, I want to say thank you,"  TikTok  COO Vanessa Pappas said. "Wherever you are in the world, we definitely couldn't do this without you." Social media giant  Facebook  in comparison in the second quarter had 3.51 billion monthly users across its family of apps, up from 3.45 billion in the first quarter. Meanwhile,  Youtube  has over two billion monthly active users, having crossed the one billion mark in 2013, eight years after the company launched in 2005. TikTok said that its biggest markets are in the US, Europe, Brazil and Southeast Asia, even though its parent company  ByteDance  is ...

   Food delivery  firm  Swiggy  (Bundl Technologies) said it has decided to change its daily grocery delivery service Supr Daily’s organisational structure to a Business Unit (BU) within Bundl. This will help Supr deal with with the unfair advantages that  Swiggy  has access to and accelerate its journey. Over the last 15 months,  Swiggy  CEO Sriharsha Majety said it has made some exciting progress on its  food delivery  business. “We’re now comfortably surpassing our pre-covid peak, while also being on the path to overall profitability,” said Majety in a blog post. While  food delivery  continues to be the firm’s flagship category, Swiggy also made some great progress in realising its larger vision of elevating the quality of life by delivering unparalleled convenience. “We’ve done this on the back of strong traction in the grocery delivery business,” said Majety. “This business is 10x the size of the food services indust...

    Instagram  has hit pause on a new app it is creating for kids, the photo-sharing service owned by  Facebook  Inc said on Monday, in a move that comes amid growing opposition for the project. Instagram  Kids had been touted as requiring parental permission to join, and was supposed to provide ad-free, age-appropriate content, but U.S. lawmakers and advocacy groups have urged the social media giant to drop its launch plans, citing safety concerns. "We won't stop pressuring  Facebook  until they permanently pull the plug," said Josh Golin, executive director of Fairplay, an advocacy group focused on kids. Instagram  said in a blog post that building Instagram Kids was the right thing to do, but that it was pausing the work and would continue building on its parental supervision tools. "The reality is that kids are already online, and we believe that developing age-appropriate experiences designed specifically for them is far better for paren...

   We are familiar with the wait for a document called  Form 16  in order to file income- tax  returns. Ever wondered what  Form 16  really is and what it tells about the taxpayer? Let's talk about the significance of one of the most important documents for taxpayers in India. First, let's first understand… What is  Form 16? A certificate detailing  tax  deducted at source by your employer Issued by an employer to its employee under Section 203 of the Income  Tax  Act Contains all the information you need in order to file your income tax return What does Form 16 contain? Salary details Tax already deducted Basically, it provides details about the salary you have earned during a financial year and the amount of tax that has been deducted by your employer and deposited with the I-T department. Is it mandatory for employers to issue Form 16? Yes, it is mandatory if any tax has been deducted at source from an employee's salary What...

   The  Centre  has informed the Delhi High Court that  Twitter  has appointed Chief Compliance Officer (CCO), Resident Grievance Officer (RGO), and Nodal Contact Person in compliance with the new IT Rules. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY), in a short affidavit, said  Twitter  has acknowledged that the personnel (CCO, Nodal Contact Person, and RGO) are appointed as the company's employees and not as 'contingent workers'. Twitter  has provided the names of the said appointed personnel and their respective positions also. The said affidavit (of Twitter) mentions their employment start date as August 4, 2021. Twitter has further enclosed their employment contracts along with the said affidavit as proof of such appointments, the ministry said. The court had on August 10 directed the  Centre  to file a short affidavit in response to Twitter's affidavit in which the company had shown compliance with IT Rules....

   Telecom Department has approached TRAI seeking its recommendations on pricing, quantum and other modalities pertaining to radiowaves in multiple bands as it prepares the groundwork for holding  5G  spectrum auction in the coming months. The last round of spectrum auction, held in March this year, had raked-in winning bids of over Rs 77,800 crore for 855.6 MHz of spectrum. When contacted, TRAI Secretary V Raghunandan confirmed that TRAI has indeed received a reference from Department of Telecom (DoT) on  5G  spectrum but declined to divulge exact contents of the communication. The regulator is currently examining the reference made by DoT, he said. The reference is with regard to multiple bands and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) will seek additional information, if needed. "We will try our best to meet the expectations," Raghunandan said when asked about the possible timelines for concluding the entire consultation process, including holding...

   Indian scientists have for the first time developed a thermally stable and cost-effective electronic polymer-based sensor for rapidly detecting nitro-aromatic  chemicals  used in high-energy explosives, the Department of Science and Technology (DST) said on Friday. The detection of  explosives  without destroying them is essential for protection, and criminal investigations, minefield remediation, military applications, ammunition remediation sites, security applications, and chemical sensors play a vital role in such cases, it said. Explosive poly-nitroaromatic compounds can be analysed usually by sophisticated instrumental techniques. But the requirements for quick decision making in criminology laboratories or reclaimed military sites or to detect  explosives  in possession of extremists often require simple, cheap, and selective field techniques, which will be non-destructive in nature, the DST said. Non-destructive sensing of nitroaromatic...

   The Indian Navy said on Sunday that it was closely monitoring the movement of  Cyclone  Gulab and kept naval ships and  aircraft  on standby for rescue and relief operations. Gulab is likely to cross between Gopalpur in Odisha's Ganjam district and Kalingapatnam in Andhra Pradesh around midnight, the India Meteorological Department said. The Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam and naval officers in charge of Odisha have carried out preparatory activities to combat the effects of the cyclone, according to an official statement. The Navy is in constant liaison with the state administrations for rendering assistance as required and closely monitoring the movement of the cyclonic storm, it said. As part of the preparedness, flood relief teams and diving teams are prepositioned in Odisha and ready at Visakhapatnam to render immediate assistance, it added. Two naval ships are at sea with humanitarian assistance and disaster relief material, and medical team...

   Tech giant  Microsoft  has launched its second folding smartphone -- the Surface Duo 2 along with the next-generation Surface devices. Available in glacier or a new obsidian, Surface Duo 2 starts at $1499.99 and is available for pre-order in select markets. "Surface Duo 2 brings new and improved design to the Surface Duo line. Still emphasizing the ability to multitask, Surface Duo 2 features larger screens, increased durability, a dynamic triple-lens camera, lightning-fast 5G, and a spine that displays notifications when the device is closed," the company said in a statement. The OLED display, each, measures 5.8-inches in size, screen resolution of 1344 x 1892 pixels, is connected by a hinge and is protected by Corning's Gorilla Glass. Both screens have a smooth 90Hz refresh rate and measure 8.3 inches diagonally when unfolded The new device features a triple-lens camera setup at the back with a 16MP ultra-wide lens, a 12MP wide angle lens and a 12MP telephoto le...

   Google  has filed a writ petition with the  Delhi High Court  against the Competition Commission of India (CCI) following the alleged leak of a confidential report that relates to the competition regulator’s ongoing investigation into the dominance of the search engine’s Android operating system. On September 18, a confidential interim fact-finding report submitted by the  CCI  director general’s office to the Competition Commission of India (CCI) relating to an ongoing investigation into Google’s Android smartphone agreements was leaked to the press, the technology giant has said. Google  has not yet received or reviewed this confidential report. The news story being referred to said the DG’s report found the American search and tech giant “guilty of adopting anti-competitive, unfair and restrictive trade practices in the mobile operating system and related markets”. On Thursday,  Google  filed the writ petition seeking redress in th...

   Apple  Inc. may have to redesign its iPhones to use USB-C charging ports under draft rules from the European Union aimed at cutting waste and simplifying life for consumers owning multiple devices. The European Commission said Thursday it wants a single type of charging port to be used for all smartphones and tablets as well as equipment such as cameras, some headphones, portable speakers and handheld video consoles. “With more and more devices, more and more chargers are sold that are not interchangeable or not necessary,” said Thierry Breton, the EU’s industry chief, in an emailed statement. “We are putting an end to that.” Apple  opposes a standard connector, saying it risks hurting innovation that can bring more energy efficient products to the market. The draft legislation adds to intense pressure from the EU in recent years with antitrust probes into its app store and payment system adding to a legal row over a massive back-tax order. Apple  is “concern...

   Search engine giant  Google  has confirmed that the Locked Folder in Photos is set to arrive on all  Android  devices soon. The feature was released exclusively on newer Pixel phones in June.  Google  hasn't provided an exact date for when the feature is releasing more widely, reports The Verge. The Photos Locked Folder will roll out soon to devices running  Android  6.0 and newer. Once it is live, users will be able to set up this folder after they receive a notification from  Google  Photos. Google Photos Locked Folder hides selected pictures/videos from the application's main grid, search, and "apps that access your device photos." Additionally, these photos will not be backed up or shared and require a device screen lock to access. Even users will not be allowed to take screenshots when they are inside a secure space. "With Locked Folder in @googlephotos, you can add photos to a passcode protected space and they won't sh...

   India’s biggest electric-scooter maker has called for the nation to end sales of gasoline-powered two wheelers by 2027 to speed up a switch to clean vehicles that has fallen behind other countries like China. “2027 would be a good time for new sales to be 100% electric,” Naveen Munjal, managing director of Hero  Electric Vehicles  Pvt., said in an interview. “If we leave it to market forces then things come along at their own pace and the transition will be much slower than what it could be.” India’s shift to  electric vehicles  has been hampered by high prices and a lack of charging infrastructure. Whereas China accounts for 97% of the world’s e-scooter fleet, they make up less than 1% of total sales in India, according to BloombergNEF. Replacing gasoline two-wheelers is key to tackling some of the world’s most toxic air because they are more polluting than cars, yet comprise 75% of the 296 million vehicles on the nation’s roads as of 2019. A stricter m...

   Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], September 23 (ANI/NewsVoir): Endorsements have seen a meteoric rise in the last couple of years both online and offline. The concept of celebrity endorsement in the Indian marketing and advertising industry is deep rooted. The reason behind the success is also straightforward. People in India idolize celebrities, and when renowned personalities associate themselves with a product, people aspire to achieve that. With a whirlwind of agencies that are now in the market catering to endorsements, it is only natural that brands are spoilt for choice. That is not to say that there is no space in the market, with a number of agencies working towards the same goal, M5 Entertainment has understood the need to cater to different verticals to fill the gaps. Talking on the endorsements, Sonya V Kapoor, said, "M5 main vertical looks into endorsements big or small. We do a variety of them basis the brands needs and budgets. We cater to each and every brands r...

   Global automakers could lose $210 billion in revenue this year because of supply chain disruptions, nearly double a forecast earlier this year, consulting firm Alixpartners said Thursday. A shortage of semiconductors is just part of the problem, Alixpartners said in a new forecast. High prices and tight supplies of commodities such as steel and plastic resin are driving up costs and forcing automakers to curtail production. Automakers are on track to lose production of 7.7 million vehicles in 2021, according to the new forecast. Alixpartners advises automakers on supply chain and other issues. In May, the firm predicted automakers would lose $110 billion in revenue and fall 3.9 million vehicles short of production plans for the year. The dour new forecast comes amid warnings from automakers and commercial truck manufacturers that semiconductor shortages and commodity price spikes are not easing as 2021 heads into its final months, as industry executives had hoped they would...

   The truth is that smartphones peaked a few years ago. After so many advances, the miniature computers have reached incredible speeds, their screens have become bigger and brighter, and their cameras produce images that make amateur photographers look like wizards. The problem with so much great innovation is that upgrades are now so iterative that it has become difficult to know what to write about them each year. That’s especially the case with Apple’s  iPhone  13, which may be the most incremental update ever to the  iPhone. The newest  iPhone  is just 10 per cent faster than last year’s models. (For context, in 2015, the iPhone 6S was more than 70 per cent faster than its predecessor, the iPhone 6.) Its flashiest new feature, a higher screen “refresh rate” on the $1,000-plus models, makes motion look smoother when opening apps and scrolling through text — hardly a game changer. Innovations on smartphone cameras also appear to be slowing.  Ap...