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EsportsXO announces one-stop destination for gamers, tournament organizers

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Bengaluru-based esports tournament management company EsportsXO has announced the launch of BattleXO, the first-ever fully automated SaaS-based platform that would cater to entities that intend to host tournaments of any scale or size. Unlike other similar platforms, the all-new platform will cater solely to those who indulge in skill-based and action-packed games, such as Free Fire, Call of Duty Mobile, Valorant, Clash Royale, Clash of Clans etc. BattleXO has been designed and developed to meet all the needs of tournament organizers, gamers and game developers.

The launch of BattleXo also marks the coming together of a number of top names from the esporting fraternity from across different parts of the country. Some of the most popular YouTubers, gamers and streamers, including Badge99, Nonstop Gaming, Casual Gaming and Gamerfleet, among others, have been brought onboard by EsportsXO for the purpose. BattleXO will provide all logistical and automation related help to let other tournament organizers host as many tournaments as possible. Going forward, the platform may host its own tournaments as well.

A major highlight of the all the tournaments that would be organized on BattleXo is that each would comprise prize money for the participants. Apart from tournament prize money, the gamers who participate would also get the opportunity to earn through brand collaborations.

EsportsXO co-founders Utsav Umang and Rohit Raj said, “Esporting is still in its nascent stage in India unlike in other parts of the world. The market is too unorganized and we aim to fill this gap at the earliest through our bouquet of products. Automation is a key aspect of all our services and products so that both gamers, as well as tournament organizers, can flourish much ado and getting stuck in technical nuances. We emphasize on being a product-based company, and our USP itself lies in our different offerings, many of which would hit the market soon.”

Xiaomi launches flagship smartphone Mi 11 with Snapdragon 888 chipset

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Chinese smartphone maker, Xiaomi, has launched its flagship smartphone M 11 globally, through a virtual event. The smartphone comes in two variants – 8GB+128GB and 8GB+256GB at Euro 749 and Euro 799, respectively – and it will be available from March.

The Xiaomi Mi 11 comes with a 6.81-inch AMOLED panel with WQHD+ resolution, a 120Hz maximum refresh rate, and 1500 nits maximum brightness. It supports HDR10+ and 100 per cent of the DCI-P3 color gamut. The display is housed in a minimal-bezel chassis with a 91.4 per cent screen to body ratio and protected by the toughest Gorilla Glass Victus.

Snapdragon 888 5G mobile platform offers significant improvements in performance per watt, AI acceleration, 5G support, computational photography, gaming performance, wi-fi speed, and photo security.

The Mi 11 features three cameras at the back – 108MP wide-angle, 13MP ultra-wide angle, and 5MP ‘telemacro’. The front camera is a 20MP in-display unit.

The smartphone also features improved night-mode photos on three of the four cameras (primary, ultra-wide, and front) and RAW-level noise reduction for brighter night-time videos. AI Cinema mode gives one-click access to six creative features; Magic Zoom, Slow Shutter, Time Freeze, Night Time-lapse, Parallel World, and Freeze Frame Video.

Other advanced imaging features include HDR10+ video recording, Pro Time Lapse, and AI Erase 2.0, which cleans up images with a single click.

The smartphone is powered by a 4,600mAh battery with 55W fast charging, 50W wireless charging, and 10W reverse wireless charging. The handset runs Android 11 with Xiaomi’s MIUI 12.5 overlay.

Portronics launches Adapto 20, a 20W wall adaptor for Rs 1,499

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Portable consumer electronics brand Portronics has launched a 20W PD fast-charging adaptor – Adapto 20. This high-speed adaptor is designed to charge your iOS and Android devices super-fast, hassle-free.

The 20W, super-efficient PD adaptor becomes a high-speed charging station, perfect for busy professionals, on-the-go parents or anyone who wants to avoid getting stuck with a low battery signal.

It is well-suited for iPhone 8 or later models, and is able to charge an iPhone 12 to 59% within 30 minutes, when it is paired with a PD cable.

The Adapto 20 is designed with strong ABS plastic that makes it safe to use, even in clumsy hands. Apart from this, it offers Over Current Protection, Over Voltage Protection, Over Heat Protection, Over Charging Protection and Short Circuit Protection to ensure safe charging. It is compatible with multiple devices like small phones and tablets, both iOS and Android.

Without cables, the Adapto 20 is priced at Rs 1,499 and is backed with a 1-year warranty, and is currently available at an introductory discounted price, on the leading online and offline stores.

U&i comes up with new logo reflecting a more modern look

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Gadget accessory and consumer electronics brand U&i has revealed its new logo, which reflects a more modern look and captures the company’s mission to deliver excellent quality, performance, and service support across the products they have.

According to the company, the new logo is more refined and modern as compared to the old one. The new logo uses the tagline “Born to Win” and the new slogan also epitomizes the mantra of “India Ki Brand, India Ke Liye”.

Paresh Vij, Founder and Director, U&i, said, “We are proud to announce the launch of the new brand logo as part of the ongoing evolution of our brand. Our business has grown and evolved over the years, and we felt it is time for a change. We have refreshed our logo to reflect who we are today and to symbolise our future.”

“After careful consideration, we chose a new logo that reflects a more modern look and captures our mission to deliver excellent quality, performance, and service support across the products we provide. With a clear strategic approach, we are also glad to proclaim the business mantra “Born to Win”, in order to create a distinct picture of our vision and mission,” added Vij.

Recently, U&i roped in Bollywood superstar John Abraham as its new brand ambassador. With the new alliance in place, both the brand and John Abraham are looking forward to creating a buzz in the market with technology and style. As part of this new association, John Abraham will be appearing in a series of campaigns for the brand’s comprehensive range of mobile batteries. With its latest alliance, U&i is aiming to widen its foothold as a trustworthy and reliable brand in the market.

Wansview launches W101, 1080P webcam in India

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Wansview has announced the launch of W101, 1080P webcam with microphone, plug and play, Wansview USB 2.0 desktop laptop computer web camera with auto light correction for Windows Mac OS, for video streaming, conference, gaming, online classes. The webcam is now available for purchase on Amazon India at Rs 3,390.

Among the key features, the webcam comes with advanced H.264 compression technology and 1080P resolution lens. Not only can this camera absorb audio within 20 ft, but also automatically reduce noise in the background and transfer dialogue automatically and clearly. The built-in stereo microphone makes the communication superior and realistic for you while video calls, feeling like you are talking face to face.

No additional drivers or software are required, this webcam can easily plug and play. You can plug it to your laptop, desktop, computer or smart TV with the USB 2.0 cable, then it’s able to get up and running on video software immediately.

Most of video software and computer systems are supported by this 1080P webcam. It works with video software like Zoom, Skype, Facebook, YouTube, PotPlayer, Face Time and others. As for the computer systems, it’s suitable for Windows systems, Mac OS, Android smart TV.

Facebook to remove more fake news about Covid-19, vaccines

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Social Media giant, Facebook, has reportedly announced that the company will expand its efforts to remove false claims regarding the Covid-19 vaccines on its platform and on Instagram.

According to some media reports, the expanded list of the false Covid-19 and its vaccine-related claims will be removed, including Covid-19 is man-made; vaccines are not effective at preventing the disease they were created to protect against; it’s safer to get a disease than to get its vaccine and vaccines are dangerous, toxic, or cause autism, among others.

The social media network said in a statement, on Monday, that the move is taken after consultations with leading health organizations, including the WHO.

Starting from this the company will also feature links in its Covid-19 information Center to the local health ministry of health websites in the US, which will help people to understand whether they’re eligible to get vaccinated and how to do so.

As per the report, Facebook in its statement said, “And in the coming weeks, as more information becomes available, we’ll continue to expand this feature to more countries and improve it to make it easier for people to see where and when they can get vaccinated in just a few taps.”

Building trust and confidence in vaccines is critical, so “we’re launching the largest worldwide campaign to help public health organizations share accurate information about Covid-19 vaccines and encourage people to get vaccinated as vaccines become available to them.”

The company is also providing $120 million in ad credits to help health ministries, NGOs, and UN agencies reach billions of people around the world with Covid-19 vaccine and preventive health information.

Jabra Elite 85t Review: Ambient ANC and Great Music

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The TWS Bluetooth headsets are witnessing a boom in the Indian market but the question concerning the quality is something where only very few companies stand out and amongst such companies lies Jabra which keeps its focus simply on delivering superior sound quality. The company has launched the successor of Jabra Elite 75t which is Jabra Elite 85t and for the first time, it has added an active noise cancellation feature that puts it directly against the likes of Bose’s new QuietComfort Earbuds and AirPods Pro. So, let’s find out that the new premium earbuds from the Jabra hold the power to compete against the well-established brands of the premium range. Jabra Elite 85t comes with a gift for its predecessor which is that it brings a firm update of ANC for Elite 75t and Elite Active 75t.

Design

Jabra defines the Elite 85t as “semi-open” earphones, meaning they are not required to be stuffed throughout the ear canals to get deep sound effects and clear sound. The earbuds have a shape identical to their predecessors; they come with oval-shaped ear tips and not circular ones that only nuzzle in the ear without having to be bent in. The Jabra logo is mounted right behind both earpieces on the physical buttons. To keep low frequencies from exerting too much pressure on the wearer’s head, Jabra integrated pressure-relief vents into the buds. The back of the buds is made of a labyrinth of small microphone hole which is much smaller than its predecessors. The charging case of the Jabra Elite 85t is slightly bigger than its predecessor which was Elite 75t. The body of the box is made up of plastic and has a matte finish which looks slippery when compared to the box of 75t which has a velvety texture. The earbud case has a USB-C charging port on the back, a single LED light to indicate battery status, and a Qi wireless charging symbol at the bottom of the case.  The new Jabra Elite 85t can be wirelessly charged as well and to charge wirelessly on any Qi-certified wireless charger, the case needs to be propped upright. The earbuds slot securely into the case and the magnets are powerful enough to prevent them from falling out. The buds come with IPX4 water and sweat resistance which is a downgrade from the previous Jabra Elite 75t which had IP55 water and dust-resistant rating. When it comes to the IP ranking, they are now on par with the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds and the AirPods Pro, which surely puts the new Jabra Elite 85t on the backfoot and at a disadvantageous position.

Connectivity

The settings of the sound effects can be customized through Jabra Sound+ App. The app comes with a sleek, customizable five-band EQ that can be used to adjust the sound configuration as preferred by individuals. There are also a few EQ presets for the app, such as Bass Boost, Treble Boost, Speech, and others. The app also allows the users to apply their desired noise cancellation or Ambient sound effect according to their preference. The app also enables users to select experiences like My Moment, Commute and Focus, as we have seen in Jabra models. These experiences can be adjusted and the desired noise cancellation effect can be applied at every moment.

Performance

The noise-cancelling in Elite 85t is quite good. It’s slightly better than the Elite 75t, although not at the level of the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds. The noise-cancelling feature of the Jabra Elite 85t is almost at the level of AirPod Pro. You can change Advanced ANC with a slider using the Jabra Sound Plus app, bringing it from full noise-cancelling to full HearThrough and anywhere in between. You can also move between ANC and HearThrough by pressing the physical button on the left earbud to keep it lower in pitch. In low and mid-range ambient sounds the earphones demonstrated outstanding efficiency. It even muted a little amount of human voices while listening to music.    What is perhaps more remarkable is that because the Jabra Elite 85t has a semi-open architecture, noise cancellation is not affected to a noticeable amount. One can easily enjoy disturbance-free music or show very comfortably as the noise cancellation feature is very good and on point.

Bluetooth

The new Jabra Elite 85t earbuds are powered by Bluetooth v5.1, they also have multipoint connection support, which means one can connect them to 2 devices simultaneously and seamlessly switch between them easily.

Build

The new Jabra Elite 85t earbuds come with 12mm drivers. The sound driver of the earbuds produces a good amount of bass and comparatively, the bass quality of the new Elite 85t is better than the previous Elite 75t. The sound quality of the songs played was excellent with the right sound pitch and good synchrony of sound effects. The calling experience is also very good as the earbuds cancel the noise surrounding you allowing you to have a clear and better talk.

Jabra Elite 85t buttons allow you to customize both media and calls according to your preference like the single press on the right earbuds plays, pauses and accepts incoming calls. The single press on the left earbud allows you to cycle through ANC and HearThrough or accepts an incoming call. The double press on the right earbud summons the voice assistant and reject an incoming call. The double press on the left earbud allows you to move to the next music track and reject an incoming call whereas the triple tap on the left earbud allows you to go to the previous track.

Battery

As per the company, the Jabra Elite 85t comes with 5.5 hours of battery life on the buds with ANC switched on. Together with the charging case, the overall battery life is estimated at 25 hours with ANC turned on and 31 hours with ANC turned off. The battery lasting capacity of the new Jabra Elite 85t is more than that of the AirPod Pro which is a bonus point of the new Elite 85t. We were able to use the earbuds for 5 hours continuously with ANC on. The charging speed of the case is moderate as it takes almost 2-3 hours to completely charge it. The case supports wireless charging as well which one can use to charge the earbuds.

Conclusion

The newly launched Jabra Elite 85t comes as a bag mixed of surprises. The ANC is better, the sound quality is great with customized control through the app, and the battery life is superb as well. The build quality is not very premium and the buds drop in between the transit or while at rest too. Have to push it harder and harder each time though it might depend on the shape of your ear. I had never felt that way with any of Jabra’s buds before. This might be due to the semi-open design it has. The call and music control are good yet the company needs to add the volume adjuster on the buds. The charging case supports wireless pads which add to its advantages and is IPX4 rated which makes it dust and water-resistant. The Elite 85t which sells at Rs 18,999 is a better option if you’re looking for ambient ANC and melodious music.

“Trell is not like other platforms that engage their users with 30-second lip-syncing and dancing videos”

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Ever since the government imposed ban on popular Chinese apps in India, content creators have been rushing to homegrown apps that provide similar short-video-making features on their platforms. Trell happens to be one such lifestyle community-commerce platform that has been making its own mark with a massive user base in India. The go-to platform for users to share their experiences, recommendations and reviews across various categories, is breaking all the records by witnessing more than 100 million-plus downloads, and a thriving community of 18 million-plus creators who are gathering more than 10 billion views on their content every month. Pulkit Agrawal, Co-Founder, Trell, in a conversation with Ramesh Kumar Raja, takes you through his journey of building this lifestyle vlogging app and how it is constantly adapting to the users’ consumption behaviour. Excerpts:

Please tell us about the journey of Trell.

At Trell, we keep our community at the core and connect with them regularly to make rapid iterations on the platform to serve them better. Trell was launched in August 2017 as a simple visual blogging platform that enabled users to share meaningful content around their interests and experiences, in their own languages. Over time, Trell became a platform with a very deeply connected community of 100 million-plus users who were sharing and discovering millions of lifestyle videos in the categories like Fashion, Beauty, Recipes, Travel, Gadgets, Movies & TV Reviews etc.

Peer-to-peer recommendations on the platform were becoming a huge hit through which we realised there were millions of KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) who wanted to share their stories with the community without any language barriers. Today, with social commerce, we are enabling these KOLs to make a living, by reviewing and recommending their favourite products and services that users can buy from the platform itself.

Through Trell we are creating a trusted ecosystem for India’s internet users to make suitable and well-informed lifestyle choices.

What are the traction details of Trell and the response so far on Google Play and App Store?

We have more than 100 million-plus downloads on the platform, and a thriving community of 18 million-plus creators who are gathering more than 10 billion views on their content every month.

With a number of homegrown players joining the fray, how do you look at the growing competition in the video space? How are you different from the existing competitors?

Our mission has always been to create an ecosystem that enables the users to enhance their lifestyle while still remaining culturally relevant to the time and age. Trell is not like other platforms that engage their users with 30-second lip-syncing and dancing videos that primarily serve the purpose of entertainment. Trell is a lifestyle community platform where passionate users share their stories and experiences in the form of 3-minute vertical videos, in their own languages, with a like-minded community, across categories like Fashion, Beauty, Recipes, Movies & TV reviews, Travel and Gadgets.

Are your servers capable enough to handle the growing traffic?

Yes, since the pandemic, we’ve seen an overwhelming number of users join our platform and we immediately upgraded our servers to handle the growing traffic. Through constant product and technology updates, we continue to provide the best user experience on the app while adding thousands of users every day.

What are you doing at the value addition front to make your platform more exciting?

The launch of social commerce is definitely the most important addition to our platform this year. Additionally, we also keep adding exciting features to the platform like our own vlogging camera that has helped our creators make videos with ease. The latest feature ‘Reaction Video Maker’ has gained immense popularity and has been widely appreciated in the creator community for being a unique, easy to use feature that is exclusively available on Trell.

Content moderation is an issue of concern for social media platforms. How do you handle it?

We take content moderation very seriously, and it is in fact one of the most important functionalities that we pride ourselves on. We have developed AI/ML algorithms that review every single piece of content that is uploaded on the platform. Our community members also flag any content that does not meet the platform’s standards and the algorithms keep learning and developing further to restrict irrelevant content for the future. We do not tolerate vulgarity, bullying, and negativity in any form in our community and aim to make it a safe environment.

“We have developed AI/ML algorithms that review every single piece of content that is uploaded on the platform. Our community members also flag any content that does not meet the platform’s standards and the algorithms keep learning and developing further to restrict irrelevant content for the future. We do not tolerate vulgarity, bullying, and negativity in any form in our community and aim to make it a safe environment”

What efforts are you putting into marketing to make Trell more popular and increase its recall value?

While the marketing strategies keep changing, one thing that has always remained a constant and has been the biggest growth driving factor for us, is prioritizing the community first. Recently, the platform has attracted a lot of well-known creators like Zakhir Khan, Angad Bedi, Meisha Iyer and Macedon, to name a few. We also partnered with Chennai Super Kings for the IPL season which helped us build more visibility and popularity among the cricket fans on the platform who created and shared over 1 million videos for our #CSKMillionStrong campaign.

Do you have any expansion plan to make it global?

We are currently present in over 75% of the country, and in 2021, we will continue to expand our Indian community. We are actively working towards giving our users more personalized content based on their diverse interests and create an exceptional shopping experience for them on the platform. Once we establish ourselves in every corner of the country, we will think about going global.

Please tell us about the funds you are raising and how they are going to help your business model?

Trell has raised a total of $16.95 million after a Series A infusion of $11.4 million from some very well known investors and industry experts like KTB Network, Samsung Ventures, Sequoia’s Surge, Fosun RZ Capital, LetsVenture, WEH Ventures, Sprout Ventures, and Beenext.

The funds have been helping us to develop state of the art technology, and in the expansion of community and adding incredible talent to our team.

Since short video platforms have emerged as a big marketing tool, are you also looking for corporate clients to increase your source of revenue?

Brands come to Trell for its differentiated content offerings which include influencer-led solutions, brand engagement, Trell IPs and shoppable videos. Trell has seen a 3X growth in the number of clients and a 5X growth in revenue in the recent past. Vi, Tinder, Dominos, POCO, are few of the brands that are active on the platform.

How are the content creators able to generate revenue through the app?

KOLs on Trell are extremely well-versed with the cultural diversity of their regions and are experts in their fields. Their popularity in the community helps them collaborate with relevant brands to share experiences, reviews and recommendations of products with their followers in their native languages. This allows users to make well-informed lifestyle decisions and they can buy these products from within the platform. Whenever a purchase happens on the platform, the KOLs earn a certain percentage of sales, through which they can generate revenue on the platform consistently. There are creators who are earning up to 25 lakhs a year from this program on Trell today.

“KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) on Trell are extremely well-versed with the cultural diversity of their regions and are experts in their fields. Their popularity in the community helps them collaborate with relevant brands to share experiences, reviews and recommendations of products with their followers in their native languages. This allows users to make well-informed lifestyle decisions and they can buy these products from within the platform”

How do the content creators connect with brands willing to promote their products on the platform?

Today for every brand, influencer marketing is one of the major channels through which they look to gain brand visibility on the internet. Trell acts as a curated marketplace between brands, KOLs and their potential customers. Brands that get listed on Trell have the ability to penetrate deeper into the Indian market through collaborations with KOLs, across languages. Some of the recent collaborations were with brands like Tinder, POCO, Vi, Plum, Dr Vaidyas, The Man Company, to name a few.

What Trell is doing to ensure the security of data in India?

Data security has been of the highest importance to us since the beginning. We follow industry best practices to protect user data such as ensuring that data is encrypted and also go through independent security audits of our infrastructure on a regular basis.

Indian Army’s ban on Facebook, other apps successful: Report

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The ban imposed by the Indian Army on the usage of 89 smartphone applications, including social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, since June last year, has been highly successful. Of the 1.3 million strong Indian Army, only eight personnel were found to have violated the ban.

According to some media reports, at least 730 Army officers have been authorised to enforce the ban which came into effect last year, on July 15. The apps included 59 Chinese apps banned by the government for general public. But strikingly, the Army also banned the usage of common apps like WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Ella, Snapchat, PubG, Messenger, TrueCaller, anti-virus 360 Security, Tinder, Tumbler, Reditt, Hungama, Songs.pk, Cam Scanner, Ok Cupid, Daily Hunt, and others. Most of the applications are American and Chinese.

Following the violence face-off between India and China along the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh last year, the Army imposed the ban to prevent cyber attacks, illegal accumulation of digital data and leakage of sensitive information. In last few years, several cases of Army personnel were discovered where they were honey-trapped on Facebook resulting in leakage of sensitive information related to the Indian military and the government.

Though the Army had been issuing several directives on the use of Facebook for personal life and WhatsApp for official work, but only in June last year, it made stringent rules for the violations.

The ban has been enforced by seeking undertakings from each soldier and officer across the country, that they have deleted their accounts and they have not installed any of the applications on their phones.

Paytm Payouts’ Enterprise Bill Payment System aims Rs 3,000 crores in transactions by FY’21

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Homegrown digital financial services platform Paytm today announced that its Enterprise Bill Payment System (EBPS), part of Paytm Payouts is set to cross Rs 3,000 crores in transactions by the end of FY’21. EBPS enables businesses to manage and pay all their utility bills generated across a large number of business locations on a single unified platform.

With Paytm Payouts, businesses can make bulk payments to bank accounts, UPI addresses, Paytm wallets, gift vouchers and other employee benefits like food allowance instantly. It provides 24*7 payment options to transfer any amount and hence benefits companies and their finance department to manage their cash flows better and all kinds of payables including rent payments, vendor invoices, customer cashbacks and refunds, channel partner incentives, utility bill payments or employee reimbursements.

EBPS is the only integrated utility bill management service for businesses in India, enabling companies to monitor all the bills of their shops, offices and warehouses. It comes with a hassle-free reconciliation system and automatically fetches new bills as they are generated. It also provides custom reports based on business locations, which can be easily integrated with the enterprise resource planning and financial reporting systems of businesses. It also provides various other options including the capability to set up custom approval workflows to make approvals and follow-ups from various business departments easier and configure bill payment reminders or automatic payment instructions. Paytm Payouts is partnering with major companies in sectors including retail, banking, logistics, among others to expand the service.

Manual processing of bills leads to companies often ending up missing payments. Businesses also must keep a retinue of staff engaged in the payment and reconciliation of bills. EBPS enables businesses to cut down on their administrative costs, increase operational efficiency and save on the bill amounts by avoiding penalties and unlocking early payment discounts. EBPS empowers companies to save on their bill by unlocking remunerations from electricity providers in the form of reward schemes for early and timely payment. The service automatically calculates the amount users must pay as well as the amount of money they save. It enables swift payments by allowing users to easily filter bills depending on the business location, due dates, bill providers etc. Companies can avail the service by submitting their details on the Paytm for Business Enterprise Bill Payments website.

Saloni Malhotra, Vice President – Paytm, said, “We aim to empower companies large and small with 360-degree solutions that help them run their businesses more efficiently. Instead of spending their time and effort on the exercise of managing bill payments, EBPS offers companies the chance to cut costs and focus on their business growth. We expect this service to process Rs 3,000 crore worth of utility bills paid by companies in the current financial year.”

Paytm Payouts is driven by a powerful API that can be integrated with any platform, thereby eliminating the need for companies to invest time and resources to build their platform. Businesses can also deposit money directly from any bank account to process any payment. The feature-rich and simple to use service is enabling several companies to pay salaries, food allowances, incentives, rewards to housekeeping and other contractual staff.