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Showing posts from December, 2019

Volkswagen’s Charging Robot Will Autonomously Charge Electric Cars

As an attempt to solve charging issues faced by electric car owners in parking areas, Volkswagen is working on a charging robot that will automatically drive to electric cars and charge them. Yes, you read that right. According to Volkswagen, the mobile robot goes to the vehicle, opens the charging socket, connects and disconnects the charging plug with no human interaction. The robot is equipped with cameras, laser scanners and ultrasonic sensors to make this possible. These sensors help the robot to move around the parking area without hitting obstacles. The best part of this robot is that it brings a mobile energy storage device – “battery wagon “. The robot attaches the battery wagon to a vehicle and goes forward to charge other electric vehicles. This battery wagon is capable of supplying around 25kWh of energy and offers 50kW DC quick charging . When the charging is complete, the robot will collect the energy storage device and takes it back to the charging station. Doesn’t...

Caviar’s Overphone Concept Envisions the Smartphone of the Future

Caviar, the Russian luxury iPhone maker has created a concept it calls “Overphone” illustrating the smartphone of the future. The company calls the concept “an ideal smartphone for the upcoming decade”. From the renders, we are looking at a smartphone with two separate displays . These displays, according to Caviar, can be attached to make it a single unit or detached to function individually. For instance, a render depicts an ideal use-case for this concept – sending a text message while watching a video. With current technology, we reply from notifications to keep the conversation going without missing out on the video content. Caviar wants to take this one step further by using a display to watch the video while texting on another display. Caviar imagines a future where users can simply convert their smartphones into a netbook by magnetically attaching displays , as you can see in the below image. Users could also attach multiple displays together to form a huge display unit. ...

Snapchat Teases Bitmoji TV, Coming Early in 2020

Snapchat is preparing to roll-out Bitmoji TV, a new addition to the numerous functions Bitmoji performs in the platform. The feature is more or less like Bitmoji Stories in video format. It will start rolling out early next year. Bitmoji TV will feature you and your friends’ Bitmoji avatars going on regular adventure trips. More details like the duration of episodes and the frequency are not known yet. However, a Snap spokesperson told Techcrunch that “Bitmoji TV isn’t available in your network yet, but stay tuned for the global premiere soon!” You can subscribe to Bitmoji TV right now from here . You may also turn on notifications by hitting the bell icon to get notified for Bitmoji TV updates. I saw a 34-second clip titled to be the first episode in the first season of Bitmoji TV. The landing page mentions that the feature is going live in February 2020 . In other news, Snapchat announced ‘Snapchat Cameo’, a feature that lets you take a selfie and insert your face to create shor...

BaldPhone is an Open-Source Launcher for Elderly People

You must have seen elderly people complaining or finding it difficult to get used to the modern user interface offered by Android and iOS. Today, we stumbled upon BaldPhone, an Android app that presents users with a straightforward interface. The app essentially replaces your smartphone’s interface with big icons that can be viewed easily by elderly people. BaldPhone was primarily developed to help people with motoric problems and people who need a visual aid to use their phones. Installing the app will provide users with a launcher, keyboard, contacts and phone apps, voice assistant, alarms, a media viewer, SOS button, and even a reminder to take pills . Below is how the phone’s home screen would look like after installing BaldPhone. You can download the app from GitHub and F-Droid. For those wondering why the app is not available to download on the Google Play Store, the developer says that it used to be present on Google Play but it had to be removed due to the recent permissi...

JioMart Grocery Delivery Service Launched to Take on BigBasket, Amazon

Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, first disrupted India’s telecom sector with Reliance Jio back in 2016 and has since continued to expand the company’s reach to new avenues. We have already seen the launch of Jio Gigafiber , AJIO e-commerce store, Jio Gate apartment security app , and a lot more. However, Ambani is looking to slap the well-known Jio brand to even more services and that has led to the birth of JioMart. Yes, JioMart is Reliance Industries’ (RIL) take on hyperlocal grocery delivery services and will be operated by Reliance Retail. It was initially launched as a pilot for Jio users in Navi Mumbai, Thane, and Kalyan in Maharashtra earlier this year. But today, the company has quietly made JioMart official and plans to expand its service across India in 2020. The service will take on well-known grocery delivery services, including the likes of BigBasket, Grofers, Amazon Prime Now, and others. Reliance has already set up a dedicated JioMart website and is marketing the...

Microsoft Edge Beta on Android Gets Revamped ‘Control Center’

Having been originally envisaged as a Internet Explorer replacement in Windows, Microsoft Edge has become a fairly popular web-browser on not only desktops, but also on mobile platforms with more than 10 million downloads on Android alone. The app has also gained a plethora of new features like the dark mode support , and ad blocking , since it was originally released on the platform, and the latest beta release (version 44.11.24.4109) now brings a new Control Center that simplifies the process of customising the browser by combining multiple settings options under one roof. As noted by OnMSFT, the new UI is turned on by default in the latest beta for all users after being extensively soak-tested over the past few weeks. The first thing you’ll notice is the redesigned navigation bar (at the bottom) that now has the ‘Control Center’ button at the middle replacing the ‘ Continue on PC ‘ button, which has been banished from the panel altogether. Instead, there’s now a ‘Share’ button on...

Top 15 Apps Like Tinder for Android and iOS

When you think of dating apps , Tinder is probably the first name that comes to mind. The app is insanely popular all across the world. As per the latest statistics (late 2017), Tinder boasts of over 57 million users across the world, and registers over 1.6 billion swipes everyday. Using independent research we assume that it has crossed 74 million active users mark by now. It also helps that the app is available in 190 countries across the world, and is available in 40 languages. However, Tinder isn’t the only dating app out there. In fact, depending on your preferences, you might find that a different app is more suited to your needs. So, if you’re looking for alternative online dating apps that can help you find that special someone, or even if you’re just looking to meet new people and make new connections, here are 15 apps like Tinder for Android and iOS that you can use in 2020. 15 Apps Like Tinder for Android and iOS in 2020 1. OkCupid Dating OkCupid markets itself as a dati...

How to Access Your Top 25 Most Played Songs in Apple Music

As barely a few hours of 2019 are left, I felt a tad nostalgic remembering all the amazing moments that graced my life. Songs being an integral part of my life, I felt to turn the clock back and see what tracks were able to mesmerize me the most. While Apple has offered a pretty nice way to get the top 100 songs of the year for Apple Music users , I wanted the list to be a bit more precise – somewhere around 20-25. And much to my bliss, there is a straightforward way to access the top 25 most played songs in Apple Music on iPhone and iPad. If you also have the same craving, this short piece is for you. View Your Top Most Played Songs in Apple Music on iPhone and iPad Aren’t subscribed to Apple Music ? Well, probably the best part about it is that even if you aren’t using Apple’s streaming service, you can view your most played music in the stock music app on your iOS and iPadOS device. What’s more, this short assortment will also include your local music files which you had importe...

Next iPhone Could Launch with a Fullscreen Display, Patent Reveals

Apple expects to ship over 100 million iPhones next year. It’s a massive number to throw down, especially when the smartphone sales have slowed down. But, a new patent today surfaced online and it could be the reason for the company’s confidence in shipments for next year. The patent application, first spotted by LetsGoDigital, showcases a new Apple device that appears to be the iPhone but could be the next-gen iPod Touch as well. We are skeptical about this being an iPhone patent for one reason. The sketches in the patent application (attached below) do not boast a notch up-top as is the case with current-gen iPhones. The sketches showcase a device with a fullscreen display, no notch and well, bezels on the front and a vertical camera setup on the rear. The strange thing, however, is that the renders have a power button, mute switch, and volume rockers but skip on the selfie camera. Also, we cannot see any reference to Face ID hardware that currently sits inside the notch and mak...

AirDrop Not Working Between iOS 13 and macOS Catalina? Here’s the Fix

AirDrop and file-sharing between iDevices go hand in hand. Just select your files, choose the nearby targeted device and then let Apple’s beloved file-sharing protocol do the rest. That’s dead simple, isn’t it? But then again, the file-sharing system is not flawless and has faced its own share of issues for several years. As you might have already guessed, the ghost of the past has already traveled to the latest iteration of macOS and iOS as well. So, if AirDrop is not working on your iOS 13 and macOS Catalina devices and you are running out of ideas to fix the problem, this troubleshooting guide can rescue you. Fix AirDrop Not Working Issue on iOS 13 and macOS Catalina  Since there could be a variety of reasons why AirDrop may not be working properly on your iPhone/iPad and Mac, you might have to try out several solutions. Therefore, getting a look into the workaround up front would be the right way to go. So, What’s the Workaround? First things first, we are going to reboot...

ProtonMail Launches Its Encrypted Calendar in Open Beta

One of the best encrypted email services , ProtonMail is giving privacy enthusiasts another reason to switch to their encrypted platform. It already safeguards your mails from prying eyes (unlike other technology giants) and you can now also keep your calendar events to yourself. Proton had been talking up its calendar product for quite some time and it’s finally here. ProtonCalendar, as it’s called, made its official debut on Monday to offer users an end-to-end encrypted alternative to Google Calendar . It essentially comes as a replacement for all calendar apps since it’s the first fully encrypted one – which makes it appealing to a lot of privacy-conscious users. The calendar feature is currently in beta and accessible only to paid ProtonMail users. The company intends to test out the calendar and iron out the kinks before making it available to all next year. Also, the feature is only available on the web version of the platform. You will have to wait until 2020 to be able to u...

CES 2020: Samsung to Unveil World’s First True Bezel-Less TV

Samsung will be one of the many big-name tech companies at the CES 2020 in Las Vegas next week, where brands like LG and TCL are expected to showcase their products, and the President and CEO of the company’s Consumer Electronics Division, H.S. Kim, will deliver a keynote address at the Venetian Hotel on January 6. According to an official press release, the keynote address will focus on the role of AI-enabled connected devices, cutting-edge semi-conductor chipsets and the new opportunities that 5G networks are expected to offer. While Samsung hasn’t revealed any more details, a new report out of South Korea suggests that the company might show off the world’s first “true Zero Bezel TV” that is said to have received the whole-hearted approval of Kim Hyun-seok, the leader of its consumer electronics operations. The report from The Elec further states that the technology is almost ready for primetime and is expected to enter mass production in February. According to a developer w...

India Announces Blockchain-Based Payment Platform ‘Vajra’

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has officially announced a blockchain -based payments platform that it says will provide “highly secure and tamper-evident transactions” via a distributed ledger system. Called ‘Vajra’ , or lightning, the platform has been designed to automate the process of clearing and settling payments for NPCI transactions. In an official press release detailing the use of the new platform, the organization said: “A permissioned network will be setup so that only the parties who have been approved by the Network Administrator can be a part of the network. Since Vajra is being developed for a payments processing industry, permission less blockchain systems were not considered” . According to the release, Vajra will have three types of nodes, including the Clearing House node, the Notary node and the Participant node. As explained by NPCI, the Clearing House node will have admin rights for the platform and will be maintained by the organization i...