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Expanding its financial services portfolio, Chinese electronics maker  Xiaomi  on Tuesday announced the Mi Credit – an app-based credit lending service with a limit of up to Rs 1 lakh on personal loans. Being an online marketplace for lenders, the app debuts with support from five non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and fintech firms — Aditya Birla Finance Limited, Money View, EarlySalary, Zestmoney and CreditVidya. Apart from lending services, the company also partnered with Experian to provide credit score report free of cost on the Mi Credit app. According to Xiaomi, the Mi Credit service is currently available in more than 10 states, covering around 1,500 pin codes, and the company aims to roll our services across all pin codes by the end of this financial year (March 2020). The Mi Credit app is now available on Google Play Store, Xiaomi app store and GetApps platform for Android smartphones. Besides, it will come preloaded on the company’s MIUI operating sys...

India's telecom majors have decided to hike their tariffs by around 40%. While the new tariffs announced by Airtel and Vodafone Idea will take effect from midnight of December 3, 2019,  Reliance Jio  has decided to raise its tariffs from the midnight of December 6, 2019. State-owned BSNL has also announced plans to increase tariffs, but is yet to announce the date for the same. The move comes after the recent Supreme Court judgment on Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) which has left the telecom majors saddled with government dues of more than Rs 92,000 crore. Airtel and Vodafone Idea have ended their Rs 169 and 199 plans that offer 1GB and 1.5GB data per day, respectively, for 28 days. Airtel will provide access to its premium content on Airtel Xtream. Jio will be introducing All-in-One plans which will cost 40% higher, but will offer 300% more benefits to customers, the company said. Vodafone Idea and Airtel customers have time until midnight of December 3, 2019 to r...

Facebook  started testing a tool on Monday that lets users move their images more easily to other online services, as it faces pressure from regulators to loosen its grip on data. The social network's new tool will allow people to transfer their photos and videos directly to competing platforms, starting with Google Photos. The company said it will first be available to people in Ireland and will be refined based on user feedback. The tool will then be rolled out worldwide in the first half of 2020. US and European regulators have been examining Facebook's control of personal data such as images as they look into whether the tech giant's dominance is stifling competition and limiting choice for consumers. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has reacted by calling for new rules to address "data portability" and other issues.   Read Complete Article

NASA  has found the crash site and debris of India's  Chandrayaan-2  Vikram moon lander following a tip from an Indian space enthusiast who examined pictures of the area of the moon taken by a US orbiting camera. The site was located by Shanmuga Subramanian, who on his own scoured the pictures taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbital Camera (LROC), NASA and Arizona State University announced on Monday confirming the find. The first mosaic image of the likely crash site made from pictures taken by the LROC on September 17 was downloaded by several people to look for signs of the Vikram, NASA said. Read Complete Article

The world's first fully Blockchain-powered smartphone BOB (Blok on Blok) that runs two different  operating systems  (OS) at the same time seamlessly is now available for purchase for $599 (nearly Rs 43,000). The smartphone can be bought in various cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin via digital asset wallet app Xwallet. The users of the app will get the device for $539 as pre-order discount from November 30 to December 14, Singapore-based Pundi X Labs which is the maker of the device said on Thursday. The XWallet mobile app connects regular digital asset wallets with the Pundi X payment ecosystem. Built entirely on and for the Blockchain by Pundi X Labs, a leading developer of blockchain-powered devices, the smartphone has Android 9.0 as base OS, allowing it to function like a regular Android smartphone. Read Complete Article

Air pollution is not a seasonal issue anymore. And, the  World Health Organization  says, unlike what we believe, air quality indoors could sometimes be worse than outdoors. Most air purifiers do help minimise exposure to polluted air, at least indoors, but not all of them provide all-season utility. That is one gap that the Dyson Pure Hot + Cool seeks to plug. Designed by British home appliances manufacturer Dyson, the Pure Hot + Cool claims to be one-of-its kind air purifier promising all-season use: It doubles up as a fan and a hot air blower while simultaneously removing pollutants and harmful gases in the air. These promises give this device an air of versatility, especially for cities that witness varied weather conditions — Delhi, for instance. But does the Dyson Pure Hot + Cool’s all-season utility justify its price tag of Rs 54,900? Let’s find out: Design To those unaware of Dyson’s design philosophy, the Pure Hot + Cool might not look like an air purifi...

With the new series of smartphones it introduced for India’s price-conscious buyers this year, South Korean electronics major Samsung also brought to the country its full portfolio of smart wearables. From  fitness bands  to smartwatches, this new range of Samsung wearables caters to users in all price bands. The latest addition to the portfolio, the Samsung Galaxy Watch LTE, a smartwatch with eSIM support, serves as a standalone device rather than a smartphone companion — just like the Apple Watch. With this device, Samsung seems to have offered Android users everything that Apple Watch offers iOS users. But does it perform equally well on all metrics? Let’s find out: Design The Samsung Galaxy Watch LTE is no design marvel. It lacks the charm of most current-generation smartwatches, even the Samsung Active (review). One culprit is its thick and bulky stainless steel case (Silver, 46mm review unit), which looks neither classic nor modern. And its black silicone s...