Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 range with 7 inch, 8 inch and 10.1 inch tablets

Though we were hoping to, the new Galaxy Tab 4 line-up was not seen at the recently concluded MWC 2014. But sources believe that Samsung is ready with the new range of tablets.

According to sources, Samsung is readying three new tablets for the Galaxy Tab 4 range – the Galaxy Tab 4 7.0, the Galaxy Tab 4 8.0 and the Galaxy Tab 4 10.1 with 7 inch, 8 inch and 10.1 inch displays. The devices would also be compatible with the recently launched Galaxy Gear Fit devices. Sadly, the date of announcement is not yet available.

The Galaxy Tab 4 range with 7 inch, 8 inch and 10.1 inch tablets has been previously rumoured. The tablet series is expected to be powered by the Snapdragon 400 processor with the latest Android KitKat version. Hopefully, the tablets wouldn’t be priced in the range of the Galaxy TabPRO devices.

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Starting today, Chinese consumers will be able to buy almost anything inside WeChat

WeChat, the popular messaging app made by Tencent, is pushing even further into mobile commerce territory. Today Tencent (HKG:0700) added support for any brands to allow customers to purchase items or services inside the app. It works for both in-store payments (where retailers will likely scan a QR code generated by your order inside WeChat) or for purely online purchases that’ll be delivered to you later.
WeChat users in China can now find this option inside some brands’ official accounts. It works only with ‘service accounts’ which are designed to support companies and retailers in offering things like loyalty cards, customer service, and online selling.
An example of the new in-app purchases in WeChat can be seen in the account belonging to Pacific Coffee, a chain of stores that rivals Starbucks and Costa. Within Pacific Coffee’s brand account in WeChat, there’s the option to buy drinks. It looks like this:
Customers can then select the type of drink, size, number of cups, and also the payment method. In this case, those in need of caffeine can pay via WeChat Payments or Pacific’s own prepaid card. Here are the screenshots:

From messaging to mobile commerce

WeChat has done ecommerce before with things like flash sales of Xiaomi phones and paying for taxi rides. And Tencent already has WeChat Payments in place as the messaging app’s main epayment option. The addition of a framework for in-app purchases allows the app to take the functionality mainstream to all verified vendors, whether they’re big name brands or ordinary small businesses.
Now it’s a case of waiting for retailers, ecommerce sites, and other companies to make use of it. Lots of big-name companies have WeChat service accounts – from McDonalds to Qunar, Starbucks to Xiaomi.
 That includes integration with other Tencent services such as daily deals, Dianping listings, and Tencent’s Yixun estore. However, it’s less clear how brands can make use of those things.
WeChat’s tie-up with a taxi app saw two million people pay for taxi rides in one busy day last month, so the scope is there for the messaging app to become a viable way for people to pay for things – both from home and while in-store.
This latest roll-out by WeChat is yet another threat to Tencent arch-rival Alibaba. The e-commerce titan wants its own ewallet app, Alipay, which has 100 million registered users, to remain China’s top epayment method. But WeChat, as a social app, is in a lot more people’s pockets than Alipay, and Tencent wants everyone to use it for far more than just chatting.

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Google Brings ‘Good To Know’ Online Safety Campaign To Various Cities In India

India is a little lacking behind in the internet world. We do not have the best internet speeds and even people who have good speeds are few and far in between. This is however nothing compared to our internet protection, which is almost null in comparison. People do not know about proper internet security and for a country riddled with piracy, this is very dangerous. As part of Safer Internet Day, Google India has introduced “Good to Know” along with Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) and Voluntary Organization in the Interest of Consumer Education (VOICE) to change that. It will be a nationwide campaign aiming at making people more aware about the security and dangers pertaining to online connections. The idea is to reach schools, NGOs and industrial groups in as many places as possible.

The campaign starts with a week-long series of educational events in Delhi. Following up, workshops will setup in different cities in the country- Guwahati, Kanpur, Lucknow and Pune.
These workshops will be organized by DEF and VOICE and will focus on digital literacy and online safety. With this, it hoped that people will better understand the dangers that need to be kept in mind while surfing online.
According to Chetan Krishnaswamy, Country Head – Public Policy, Google India- “Through the Good to Know campaign, we want to help equip millions of new Internet users coming online in India with the knowledge and tools needed to become responsible digital citizens. Internet safety begins with exercising meaningful choices when online, having an open conversation about it with our families, and teaching them the basics such as using strong, unique passwords and not sharing personal information.”
Besides DEF and VOICE, Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-in), Indian Government’s agency dealing with cyber threats, Data Security Council of India (DSCI) and the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), endorses the campaign.
In the words of J Satyanarayana, Secretary, Department of Electronics and IT, Ministry of Communications and IT- “This Safer Internet Day, let’s pledge to be responsible users of the Internet. This is an excellent initiative by Google, DEF, Consumer Voice and CERT-In to create awareness about the simple ways through which we can stay safe and secure online. I hope to see many more initiatives of this kind as an increasing number of Indians come online, especially the youth.”
Internet security is very important in today’s world. Many of our passwords are banking ones or important email addresses which, if in the wrong hands could cause havoc. I believe it is a great initiative and people should attend this in their respective cities and learn more about internet security.

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Micromax Enters Russian Markets With Canvas Beat A114R & Canvas Social A94 Smartphones

Micromax had set in motion its plans for global expansion for some time now. They have had a tremendous growth in India and they are the biggest Indian brand in the market here. In fact, they are now the 11^th largest mobile company in the world and 2nd largest in India in terms of handset sales. Recently, they had signed actor Hugh Jackman who has an international presence. This alone shows how serious they are in there endeavor to become a global company.
However, until now, they had not launched any phones in any developed market. This changes with Micromax’s launch of two of its smartphones in the Russian Market.
The two phones are Canvas Beat A114R and Canvas social A94. These phones are the variations of Canvas 2.2 and Canvas MAd smartphones which are already present in India.
The phones are listed on their Russian site.

Tech Specs	Canvas Beat	Canvas Social
Processor	1.2 GHz Quad core Broadcom BCM23550 Processor	1.2 GHz Quad core Broadcom BCM23550 Processor
RAM	1 GB	512 MB
Battery	2000 mAh	1800mAh
Screen	5″ qHD	4.5″ IPS
Camera	8 MP rear	5 MP rear

The company has partnered with VVP group for device distribution. Also, they have tied up with some of the popular social networks (Odnoklassniki and IVI.ru) in Russia to provide Russia oriented content for the smartphones users.
In addition to this, Micromax has plans to rise to one of the top brands in Russia. It has already setup its service centres in the country and plans to launch as many as 14 smartphones in 2014.
These phones should give them some serious traction in the country provided they are able to give good services and market the phones right.
Their marketing has been one of the key factors in their success in the country and if a similar aggressive and cheeky marketing continues in Russia, it would be an interesting development to watch.
The most important question however is-
“Will its image in India change once Micromax has become a global company?”
I know it might not be in many people’s mind but I can’t help but think whether the approval of foreign countries will improve the company’s standing in its own.

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Samsung Galaxy Grand Neo Launched at Rs. 18,299

Samsung has launched the Galaxy Grand Neo smartphone in India within a month of its global unveiling. The device has not been listed listed on the company's website and official e-store as of now, but is listed on e-commerce websites. It is available on The Mobile Store at Rs. 18,299 and on Snapdeal at Rs. 18,679.

The new Grand Neo will compete against the likes of LG Optimus G Pro Lite Dual, Sony Xperia C, Micromax Canvas Turbo and Xolo Q3000 at this price point.

In terms of specifications, the Galaxy Grand Neo is quite similar to the original Galaxy Grand smartphone. Both handsets offer dual-sim functionality and have 5-inch screens with 800 x 480p resolution. The two also have 2,100mAh battery, Android 4.2 operating system and 1GB RAM.

The Galaxy Grand Neo comes with 8 and 16GB storage options, while the original Grand only offered 8GB internal storage.

There are two downgrades in the Galaxy Grand Neo - camera and processor. While Samsung has used a quad-core chip in Grand Neo, it has used the A7 CPU architecture. However, the dual-core processor of Galaxy Grand was designed on the more efficient A9 CPU architecture.

The new model has a 5MP rear camera and VGA front camera, compared to the 8MP rear camera and 1.2MP front camera of the original Grand.

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Samsung Plans To Launch Multiple New Smart Watches At MWC 2014

Samsung plans to launch at least two new versions of its Galaxy Gear smart watch next week at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona according to reports from USA Today and The Verge. One of the watches will run Tizen, an open source operating system Samsung is helping develop. The current Galaxy Gear runs Google's Android mobile operating system. The Tizen watch would theoretically allow the new Galaxy Gear to sync with a bunch of different devices, not just Android phones.
The original Galaxy Gear launched last fall to poor reviews. Critics panned the device for its limited capabilities, bulky design, and poor battery life.
Samsung has already said it plans to release a new Galaxy Gear along with its next flagship phone, the Galaxy S5. Those devices will officially debut on February 24 at the company's press conference at MWC.

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