Micromax: 2016 to be the year of large screens, cheap smartphones, videos.

The year that has just begun will be the year of large screens and videos, the demand for cheaper smartphones will grow and 3G and 2G users will continue to co-exist over the next few years in India, Micromax, one of the country's leading smartphone makers, has predicted.

In 2016, entry of Chinese and Indian brands in mobile manufacturing market would be a key driver for new business models to emerge to ensure unit level profitability, the Micromax study noted, adding that it may be difficult for Chinese companies to enter and flourish if the Goods and Service Tax (GST) is implemented.

It also pointed out that e-commerce might flatten out and mobile internet ecosystem would grow beyond the 150-200 million smartphone users.

“The massification of smartphones will continue in India to keep on catering to the needs of first time smartphone users and the growth will depend on vernacular usage, access costs and penetrating distribution and awareness,” the findings showed.

Although the country saw the proliferation of 4G-enabled devices, 3G and 2G users will continue to co-exist over the next few years.

“The auction of LTE (4G) centric spectrum in 2016 could make 4G to play a crucial role in building Digital India,” it noted.

Samsung and Micromax dominated the handset market last year by ramping up domestic manufacturing.

Shockingly, the study said that in 2016, e-commerce websites may flatten out as these platforms will cut back their cash burns. However, the reach will expand to newer towns.

The study pointed out that with the wide availability of data network, content, personalisation and hardware such as large screens, smartphones will become a more preferred source for video consumption in 2016.

Mobile-led services across sectors like entertainment, travel, healthcare and banking will become mainstay and mobile internet ecosystem will grow beyond the 150-200 million smartphone users.

The key to this growth will be simplification through relevant services and availability of these in various Indian languages, the study said.

Flexible Camera Developed That Can Be Wrapped Around Objects

A team led by an Indian-origin professor at Columbia University has created a novel sheet camera that can be wrapped around everyday objects to capture images that cannot be taken with one or more conventional cameras. "Cameras today capture the world from essentially a single point in space. While the camera industry has made remarkable progress in shrinking the camera to a tiny device with ever increasing imaging quality, we are exploring a radically different approach to imaging," said Shree K Nayar, computer science professor at Columbia University. "We believe there are numerous applications for cameras that are large in format but very thin and highly flexible," added Nayar who graduated from the Birla Institute of Technology, Ranchi, in 1984. Nayar's team designed and fabricated a flexible lens array that adapts its optical properties when the sheet camera is bent. This optical adaptation enables the device to produce high quality images over a wide ...

Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, Yahoo back Apple in its fight over encryption with FBI

The nation's leading tech companies joined security experts, independent programmers and civil liberties advocates who filed court papers backing Apple in its fight with the FBI over an encrypted iPhone used by an extremist killer. Several law enforcement groups, meanwhile, filed briefs in support of federal authorities who are seeking Apple's help in hacking an encrypted iPhone used by Syed Farook, one of the San Bernardino mass shooters. These "friend of the court" briefs come in advance of a March 22 hearing in which Apple is asking U.S. Magistrate Sheri Pym to reverse an order requiring Apple to create a software program that overrides iPhone security features. That program would let authorities try to unlock Farook's phone by guessing its passcode; Apple says it would make all other iPhones more vulnerable to future attacks. Relatives of five people who were killed, along with one survivor of the December 2 attack, also filed a brief saying the FBI's ...

Samsung Galaxy S7: 5 Features That Stand Out

Klutzes of the world should rejoice Friday, as Samsung officially starts sales of its new water-resistant Samsung Galaxy S7 and Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. The phones, which the company first unveiled last month, are now widely available in all their dunkable glory. The latest two Samsung's high-end smartphones are supposed to be able to withstand submersion up to five feet for as long as 30 minutes. So you're in luck if you drop your phone in the drink - as long as you fish it out reasonably fast. Samsung provided me with a review unit of the Galaxy S7, a 5.1-inch smartphone. Once I opened the box, I duly dropped the high-performance, expensive phone into my sink while doing the dishes. Apart from the mild palpitations I gave myself, there was no damage at all. The phone's touchscreen didn't work under water, but it continued on without a hiccup and was unharmed and still working perfectly when I pulled it out. It was just as impressively zippy as ever and no worse for ...

IntellectBeat

Search This Blog