Tag: Tech Toyz

Tired of cleaning and mopping your home during the lockdown? Let the robots takeover

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Dust, sweep, mop, repeat. I don’t know about you but that pretty sums my household chores routine during this lockdown and I think it’s time for us to let the robots takeover our floor. While robotic vacuum cleaners are a segment that took off a few years back, we need them now more than ever.

If you are looking for options, Chinese hardware maker Xiaomi on Friday introduced a new product under its smart home category called Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop P. Talk about spotting an opportunity. Robot Vacuum-Mop P will be available on Mi.com through crowd funding starting April 17, 2020 and will set you back by Rs 29,999. As of now, it is available at an introductory price of Rs 17,999. This robo-vac will start shipping for Indian consumers from September 15.

This is an intelligent home cleaning device equipped with 12 different multi-directional sensors and a dedicated Laser Distance Sensor (LDS) navigation system. LDC can scan complex environments accurately and avoid obstacles during the cleaning process. It can scan a surrounding in 360° with an 8-meter range up to six times per second. Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop P packs in a 2-in-1 sweeping-mopping functionality and also comes with a smart app control.

How does it work? It supports two kinds of cleaning modes – Sweeping & Mopping mode and Sweeping only mode. Both modes use the 2-in-1 tank and a 550 ml large dust box which comes bundled in the box. Its electronically-controlled water tank comes with three gears of water for different floor materials. It also has an outlet sensing tech which makes the device immobile when it runs out of water.

The vacuum cleaner has built-in WiFi capability and can connect to the Mi Home App to provide better control options. Just in case you feel out of work, while robot is at it, you can view the virtual map that the vacuum ‘sees’ and set automated cleaning schedules and give one a view of the cleaning history. In terms of battery, it has a 3200mAh lithium battery which the company claims can last up to 110 minutes of cleaning.

Till then, happy cleaning folks!

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

First ‘virtual’ impressions: OnePlus 8 vs OnePlus 8 Pro

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

The coronavirus pandemic has forced tech companies across the world to hit a long pause on glitzy product launches with live audiences and unlimited gimmicks. But that has not stopped companies from introducing new products. Chinese smartphone-maker OnePlus has launched its latest flagships – the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro – at an online-only event .

Specs: OnePlus 8 Pro Vs OnePlus 8
In terms of specs the OnePlus 8 Pro sports a 6.78-inch display QHD+ Fluid AMOLED display along with up to 120Hz refresh rate, 19.8:9 aspect ratio, and 3D Corning Gorilla Glass protection. Whereas the OnePlus 8 gets a 6.55-inch full-HD+ Fluid AMOLED display that has up to 90Hz refresh rate, 20:9 aspect ratio. What adds ‘Pro’ to the premium variant is the water and dust protection along with wireless charging on the OnePlus 8 Pro. Under the hood, on the OnePlus 8 Pro has a 4,510mAh battery that supports Warp Charge 30T and the OnePlus 8 packs in a 4,300mAh battery.

Camera
The Pro version has been bundled with a quad-camera setup with a 48MP main camera, alongside a 48MP ultra-wide lens, a telephoto lens, and a color filter camera. The ultra-wide lens includes a 120-degree angle, and the telephoto supports 3x hybrid, and 30x digital zoom. What is the big deal about the new color filter camera? Well it supports lighting effects and filters for photography. On the front, the OnePlus 8 Pro has a 16-MP Sony IMX471 sensor at the front along with an f/2.45 lens and 1.0-micron pixel size. The younger cousin, the OnePlus 8 gets a triple camera setup on the rear with a main 48MP f/1.75 camera, an ultra-wide f/2.2 16MP camera, and a 2MP f/2.4 camera – so no zoom lens and color filter camera like on the 8 Pro. On the front the device sports a 16 MP Sony IMX471 sensor at the front along with an f/2.45 lens.

Looks matter
Both the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro will be available in black, blue, and a new green color option. This time OnePlus has also thrown in an ‘Interstellar Glow’ color option for the OnePlus 8. Déjà vu, said Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10 Aura Glow option.

Price and availability
Globally, the OnePlus 8 has been priced at $699 for the 8GB RAM + 128GB storage variant while the higher end 12GB RAM + 256GB storage variant has been priced at $799. The OnePlus 8 Pro’s entry variant with 8GB RAM+128GB storage starts retail at $899 and the most premium of the lot with 12GB RAM and 256GB has been priced at $999. This makes the OnePlus 8 series the most expensive OnePlus phones to have been launched to date. In fact with the $999 price point, the OnePlus 8 Pro’s top-end variant is in the same league as the flagships from Samsung and Apple. It will go on sale starting April 21 in the UK (and other European regions) and April 29 in the US. Pre-orders start from today.

India pricing
As of now we do not have clarity on the India prices just yet, but OnePlus took to Twitter to inform its Indian user base that the pricing of the devices will be announced soon.

But let’s throw in a quick reminder for our Tech Toyz readers. The India pricing of the device will depend on multiple factors including the depreciation of the Rupee against the Dollar and also the 50 per cent hike in GST on phones — from 12 percent to 18 percent. Plus due to COVID19 induced lockdowns there have been disruption in supply chain and manufacturing facilities. So much everything else right now, this too is a wait and watch situation.

Tech Toyz: Follow this space for India price updates.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

The story behind the rise of vivo mobiles as one of the leading smartphone brands in India

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Until 2017, a mere 27 percent of Indians were using smartphones. But, by 2022, smartphone users in India will likely account for 60 percent of the population as per Cisco’s 13th annual Visual Networking Index (VNI).

India has steadily grown as one of the largest markets for digital consumers, with 560 million internet subscribers in 2018, second only to China. And as the number of consumers increase, so does the demand for smartphones.

Catering to this demand, Chinese smartphone maker vivo mobiles, who made its foray in India in 2014, quickly rose to the challenge and adapted to the dynamic nature of the smartphone market.

Until June 2019, vivo had shipped almost 5.8 million smartphones to India. And by October 2019, it clocked the highest ever share in the market at 23 percent. The brand captured consumers’ interest by introducing a phone with the first pop-up selfie camera, and creating the first phone with an in-display fingerprint sensor.

In less than five years of its entry into the country, the brand is all set to invest Rs 7,500 crore towards manufacturing in India in the next few years, in a bid to create products that are purely made in India. In fact, every vivo smartphone currently selling in India has been made in India.

In this episode of Tech Toyz, CNBC-TV18’s Megha Vishwanath chats with Nipun Marya, Director of Brand Strategy, vivo mobiles, about the brand’s meteoric rise, the hits and misses in the past five years, the formulas that succeeded, their ‘Make In India’ initiatives, and how they’ve put their learnings to the test.

This is a partnered post.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

The Moto Razr is back and we are flipping

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Foldable phones were the smartphone trend of 2019 and Motorola wants to cash in on this, by adding a dash of nostalgia. The company has rebooted the iconic Razr phone which first debuted in the early 2000s.

Motorola unveiled this device at Lenovo Tech World 2019 in Beijing, China, with hopes to bring flip phones back in style and I got a chance to play around with the device a little.

DISPLAY: The 2019 edition of the device packs in a small 2.7-inch Quick View display on the front or back, depending on how you are holding it, and sports a 6.2-inch foldable plastic OLED panel. The smaller display can show you notifications and even supports the selfie mode while taking advantage of the main 16-megapixel camera.

UNDER THE HOOD: The device runs on Android 9 Pie, it has a fingerprint sensor and a USB-C charging port. Under the hood, the device packs in a Snapdragon 710 processor that’s coupled with 6GB RAM and 128 GB of internal storage.

THE FLIP SWAGGER: Once folded, turns into a small pocket-sized smartphone that is loaded with that classy flip swagger. Imagine yourself hanging up on someone… in style! Having said, it is a little hard to fold this device with one hand. Now, there are still some concerns about durability for the folding display as it’s still way too early in the game. I will have to spend a lot more time with the device to know if Motorola has got it right in the very first attempt or not.

EARLY VERDICT: For now, I can safely say that the Razr is a crisp high-end flip phone with a neat hardware design that is a packed in a solid stainless steel and glass shell. All this will set you back by $1,499 when it arrives in January 2020. Having said that, I still think that you should wait for a generation or two more before you invest your money on a foldable device. That’s for the risk-averse users out there. If you fall on the other end of the spectrum, who like to be on the bleeding edge of technology, then the Moto Razr deserves a home in your deep pockets. Overall, I am just glad that the Motorola has brought back the Razr, let the flipping begin!

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow