IntellectBeat

When Noida-based Ringing Bells announced that it is launching a smartphone priced at Rs 251, little did it know the news would quite literally disrupt the mobile market and bring with it some serious doubts. Freedom 251 - an Android-based smartphone- was announced earlier this week at an event the scale of an Indian wedding. However, as soon as the so-called review units were handed to the media persons, a Pandora's box was unleashed. From shoddily re-labeling Adcom Ikon 4 units as Freedom 251 with a whitener to bluntly denying having borrowed elements from the premium Apple iOS; here are some of the controversies surrounding the world's cheapest smartphone: 1. Price Touted as the world's cheapest smartphone at Rs 251, Ringing Bells is offering the Freedom 251 with specs that include a 4-inch WVGA IPS display, 3.2 megapixel auto-focus rear camera, 0.3 megapixel front camera, 1.3 GHz quad-core processor, 1GB RAM, 8GB of internal storage with SD card support, 1450 mAh bat...

Moving away from the usual practice of focussing on GMV as a growth parameter, e-commerce major Snapdeal is now aiming to enable 20 million users to transact on its ecosystem daily by 2020. At a recent townhall, Snapdeal co-founder and CEO Kunal Bahl told employees that the new mission aims to pivot the entire organisation around the number of users transacting daily on its ecosystem (Snapdeal, coupled with acquired entities like Freecharge). This would be a significant jump from the current over one million transacting users registered through Snapdeal's ecosystem. "The new vision of '20 million daily transacting users by Year 2020' focuses on driving the number of regular users on its platforms rather than a uni-dimensional focus on GMV alone," he said. The metric of daily transacting users has been adopted by Snapdeal as it is a good proxy measures of habit creation among its users, he said, adding that it is moving its strategy from customer acquisition al...

Virgin Galactic, the space tourism company owned by British billionaire Richard Branson, on Friday unveiled a new commercial spaceship, more than a year after its predecessor crashed and killed one of its pilots. It marked the beginning of a testing phase for the SpaceShipTwo, and the company underscored that commercial space flights would not be available until Virgin Galactic was satisfied it could carry them out safely. "As we celebrate the end of one critical phase of work, we also mark the start of a new phase, one focused on further testing and, ultimately, the first commercial human spaceflight program in history," Virgin Galactic said in a statement. The new spaceship, which largely looks the same as its predecessor, made its debut in a ceremony at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California. It was towed into a hanger by a white Range Rover SUV, with Branson standing in the sunroof and waving. It was dubbed the "Unity," a name chosen by renowned physici...

The anticipated Mobile World Congress 2016 edition is all set to kick-start starting February 22 in Barcelona, Spain and among a host of high-technology consumer unveilings, automotive technology and special guests, the highlight of the four-day technology extravaganza draws most attention for the number of next-gen smartphones on display. At the MWC 2016, one of the most looked forward to smartphones come from Samsung which will succeed its existing Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge smartphone lineup. The Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge will carry on the same curved edged features as the predecessors but there will also be a 'premium' version with a 4K screen and a 14-core processor that could make its way to the Asian market in March. Prior to the official launch, a teaser video of the Galaxy S7 had been leaked which showed off the device featuring waterproof capability and wireless charging feature. The new Galaxy smartphones are speculated to have metal and glass design. With a 5.1-i...

All the biggest names in the world of mobile telecoms and internet technology -- with the exception of Apple -- will be heading to Barcelona, Spain, February 22-25, for the 2016 Mobile World Congress (MWC). New-generation flagship smartphones from Samsung, LG, Huawei and Sony are expected at the event, as well as appearances from prestigious special guests. Stars of the show: Samsung Galaxy S7, LG G5 New versions of some of the most innovative and high-performance smartphones on the market are being lined up for the Barcelona trade show, with replacements for the Samsung Galaxy S6, the LG G4 and the Huawei P8 expected at MWC 2016. Galaxy-S7-leaked-02Samsung Galaxy S7 Samsung is likely to grab the most column inches with the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge, which brings curved edges to the handset's display. These new models should be up for release from March, while a "Premium" version with a 4K screen and a 14-core processor could be heading for the Asian market. LG-X-...

Here's another use for the smartphone as it invades daily life: in place of your debit card at your bank cash machine. The " cardless " automatic teller machine (ATM) is gaining ground in the US and around the world, with smartphone technology allowing for speedier and more secure transactions. Dozens of US banks are installing new ATMs or updating existing ones to allow customers to order cash on a mobile application and then scan a code to get their money without having to insert a bank card. US banking giants Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Chase are in the process of deploying the new ATMs, as are a number of regional banks and financial groups around the world. Makers of ATMs and financial software groups are ramping up to meet this demand. "We think our model (using smartphones) reduces a lot of vulnerabilities," said Doug Brown, who leads mobile technology for FIS Global, a major provider of software and technology for ATMs. Brown said the FIS cardl...

Protesters are preparing to assemble in more than 30 cities to lash out at the FBI for obtaining a court order that requires Apple to make it easier to unlock an encrypted iPhone used by a gunman in December's mass shootings in Southern California. The protests organized by the Internet rights group Fight for the Future are scheduled to occur Tuesday outside Apple stores in the US, the UK, Hong Kong and Germany. The US protests will be in cities scattered across more than 20 states, including in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington, where protesters plan to express their discontent outside the FBI's headquarters. The gatherings will come a week after the FBI went to court to force Apple to weaken the security built into most iPhones to help a terrorism investigation in San Bernardino, California. The FBI wants Apple to remove a feature that erases the information stored on an iPhone after 10 unsuccessful attempts to enter a password, preventing unauthorized users...