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• Apple to Launch Lossless Audio Free of Additional Costs
• 5G Data Security Threats to Businesses
• Poco M3 Pro 5G Official Render Reveals Design and Specs
• Reliance Jio to Use IAX and IEX Subsea Systems for Supporting Data Growth
• Bharti Airtel’s Registers Total Revenues of Rs 25,747 Crore in Q4 FY2021
• LG Disposing Rollables and Velvet 2 Pro by Selling to Employees
• Bharti Airtel, Jio, Vi Set Up War Rooms to Combat Taukate
• Oppo Reno6 5G Leaked Live Images Ahead of Official Launch
• Samsung Galaxy A22 5G Found on Bluetooth SIG Listing, All to Know
• Redmi Note 8 (2021) Edition Spotted on Bluetooth SIG
• Telegram, Signal See 1200% Spike in Users Ahead of WhatsApp Privacy Policy Deadline
• PS5 Available From Today, Are You Buying?
• DoT’s Delay in Revising NFAP Policy Costs Precious Time for 5G Trials
• Reasons for Slow Internet Services in Rural Areas
• Realme Watch S Review: Prioritising Form Over Function
• JioFiber Broadband Plans for Streaming Needs

Apple to Launch Lossless Audio Free of Additional Costs Posted: 17 May 2021 09:41 AM PDT Apple, the Cupertino based tech giant, has been offering products that have been the most influential or key to the specific segment, from the iPhone to the Mac; they have acted as a sort of base for certain products. Now, on Monday, Apple has announced its plans to launch lossless, Hi-Res audio support on its music streaming platform Apple music next month, with a shocking bit of information that mentions that the high-quality service will be made available to all the company subscribers for their current subscription rate. Whilst this might not seem odd to someone from outside the Apple ecosystem, for those who are part of it or have used Apple products in the past, they know that Apple has a specific charge for a certain feature or product and, this decision seems to be a major shift from what the company usually does. What this means is that if you pay Rs 99 a month or Rs 999 for a year on Apple Music, you will get the new lossless audio feature for the same rate, without any additional cost. What Else Has Apple Announced Apart from the upcoming support for high-quality audio on Apple Music, the company also announced the arrival of Spatial Audio support through Dolby Atmos on its music streaming service. As of now, the feature is available on Apple's wearables, namely the AirPods Max, which are the company's flagship headphones and its AirPods Pro truly wireless earphones that add a surround sound effect to the track that is playing. The system makes use of an in-built mechanism to track the user's head movements in a bid to emulate a theatre-like feel with multi-directional sound effects. For those of you wishing to know the specifics, after updating to the latest version of Apple Music, users will be able to listen to music at 16-bit at 44.1kHz, which is the standard quality on offer. If one owns an iPhone or iPad, they will be able to play 24-bit audio at 48kHz, which needs a compatible headset. There is a third music tier now, which will allow users to listen to music at 24-bit audio at 192kHz but to make use of this, you will need specialised audio equipment, including their own DAC, to listen to them. Do note that there are a couple of setbacks, such as the instance where to use the new lossless audio feature with Apple's 75 million high-quality songs; you will need either a Beats headset, AirPods Pro or the AirPods Max running on the company's H1 or W1 chip. If you do not use wireless earphones, you can listen to spatial audio-based music using the in-built speaker on your Apple product.

5G Data Security Threats to Businesses Posted: 17 May 2021 07:42 AM PDT When the world got struck down with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, businesses around the world had to adopt a Work-From-Home (WFH) approach. With a majority of the employees now working remotely, organisations had to think about ways to boost their digital transformation to be able to support their employees in a smooth transition from working in an office to working from home. Now that WFH has become the new normal, organisation are looking for the latest technology that could sustain this working model. This, combined with the surge in demand and adoption of 5G networks, poses new data security and cyber threats that need to be considered by these organisations as they have a diversified employee base. Increase in the Potential Devices under Threat One of the primary applications of the 5G network, once it would get global adoption, is with IoT. IoT or Internet of Things consists of billions of devices connected to the internet that collect and share data. 5G networks will enable more and more devices to be connected to the internet. IoT connections are estimated to reach 25 billion globally by 2025. Cyber attackers will be looking for new loopholes and weak security points in these devices in order to be able to hack them. The largely remote working force seems to be a great opportunity for these attackers to commit a cyber attack. The 5G network infrastructure is built in such a way that it brings application hosting to the network edge. While this provides improved latency and increased bandwidth, it also makes it easily prone to cyber attacks as the target points now increase. Impacts the Entire Industry At Once 5G networks will bring increased connectivity between different devices. Organisations will need to keep a check on the way data and the network is protected in the supply chains. As these supply chains are going to be widely connected and be 5G compatible, it gives hackers' opportunities to find a vulnerable weak spot that can be hacked with which they can hack a number of devices at once. An example to explain the catastrophic impact of such a hack would be driverless cars, which if once hacked can lead to disastrous accidents. Another example could be the health care services, which if hacked could provide inaccurate treatments and diagnostics to patients. The Way Forward for Businesses Keeping all the possible threats in mind, businesses need to keep a security-first approach while think of adopting the latest technologies. A Zero-trust approach would help them ensure that an increased number of access points do not necessarily mean more breaches. As we move toward the adoption of 5G and its various applications, organisations need to be aware of what data flows through what supply chains, where it is' stored and what possible risk threats does it have. Rapid response teams and automated techniques to tackle cyber threats would go a long way to ensure a smooth remote operation for any business.

Poco M3 Pro 5G Official Render Reveals Design and Specs Posted: 17 May 2021 06:28 AM PDT Poco is all set to add a new 5G smartphone to its portfolio with the launch of the Poco M3 Pro in the global market. The company has also confirmed the launch of the handset on May 19th, but it seems that the assured launch date is not enough to stop the leaks and rumours. We have already witnessed a series of leaks and rumours about the smartphone that has also appeared on certifications websites. Now in the latest development, the company has teased a poster image of the handset revealing key specifications and design of the phone. Let's have a closer look at the confirmed specifications and features of the upcoming Poco M3 Pro 5G. Poco M3 Pro 5G Confirmed Features Poco Global, on its Twitter handle, shared a teaser poster of the upcoming Poco M3 Pro 5G revealing the design of the upcoming smartphone. The official poster of the handset seems in line with the leaked renders that surfaced on the web earlier. The official render image confirms that the handset will feature a rectangular-shaped camera bump on the rear panel of the phone. Just below the camera placement, the company has also embedded POCO branding. The image also shows a side-mounted fingerprint scanner embedded on the power button. The company has also confirmed that the handset will weigh 190 grams and will be 8.92mm thick. So far, Poco has already announced that the handset will feature a 6.5-inch FHD+ LCD display with a waterdrop notch design and 90Hz refresh rate. Going with the previous report, the smartphone is said to ship with the MediaTek Dimensity processor with 5G connectivity support. However, the handset is confirmed to be powered by an octa-core MediaTek Dimensity 700 processor based on a 7nm process. It is said to arrive with a bigger RAM configuration than the vanilla variant. Earlier, Poco already confirmed that the upcoming Poco M-series smartphone is going to ship with a 48MP triple rear camera setup along with an LED flash. The handset will be fuelled by a massive 5,000mAh battery with 18 W fast charging support. The smartphone was recently listed on the IMEI database, revealing some of the features. We know almost everything about the Poco M3 Pro 5G; it would be interesting to see at what price point the company is planning to launch the device.

Reliance Jio to Use IAX and IEX Subsea Systems for Supporting Data Growth Posted: 17 May 2021 05:34 AM PDT Reliance Jio (Jio), India's top telco, on Monday announced that it is working on constructing the largest international submarine cable system, that too in India. Jio will be working with several key global partners and submarine cable supplier SubCom to deploy two next-gen cables to support extraordinary growth in data demand across the region. The two systems will be named IAX (India-Asia-Xpress) and IEX (India-Europe-Xpress), both of which will work to connect India to overseas locations, with the former system connecting India eastwards to Singapore and further, whilst the latter will connect India towards the west to Europe and the Middle East. The systems are supposedly aimed at seamlessly interconnecting and connecting to the world's best interexchange points and content hubs so as to gain an extension of services on a global scale. IAX and IEX will also enhance the ability of the consumer and enterprise owner to access content and cloud services in and around India. What Do We Know About IAX and IEX? For those of you unaware, this is the first time in the history of fibre optic submarine telecommunications that the systems are placed in India at the centre of the international network map, hinting at India's importance and staggering growth, a quantum shift in data use since Jio first debuted back in 2016. These high-speed systems are expected to deliver more than 200 Tbps of capacity over a span of 16,000 km. Employing open system technology as well as the latest wavelength switched RoADM/branching units will ensure rapid upgrade deployment as well as the ultimate flexibility to add or drop waves across different locations. As per a statement by Mr Mathew Oommen, the president of Reliance Jio, the company is at the forefront of India's explosive growth in matters of digital services and data consumption. In order to meet the demands of streaming content, remote workforce, 5G, IoT, amongst others, Jio is in a leadership role in the construction of the first of its kind, India-focused IAX and IEX subsea systems. The IAX system connects India, which is the world’s fastest-growing economy, to Asia Pacific markets with speedy connectivity from Mumbai and Chennai to places such as Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. In contrast, the IEX system pushes India’s connectivity to Italy (Savona) and the Middle East and North Africa. In terms of availability, IAX is expected to be ready for service by mid-2023, with IEX being ready for service around 2024.

Bharti Airtel’s Registers Total Revenues of Rs 25,747 Crore in Q4 FY2021 Posted: 17 May 2021 05:17 AM PDT Bharti Airtel had a decent last quarter in FY2020-21. The telco reported a 17.6% YoY jump in revenues for the last quarter. The total revenues for the company in the last quarter was Rs 25,747 crore. Out of this, Airtel's India business contributed revenues of Rs 18,338 crore, which is up by 17.5% YoY. One highlight of the report shared by Bharti Airtel was the dipping average revenue per user (ARPU). The telco recorded an ARPU of Rs 145, which is a huge dip as compared to the ARPU of Rs 166 in the previous quarter. Bharti Airtel ARPU Rs 10 More than Last Year The telco's ARPU at the last quarter of FY21 was Rs 145. Compared to the previous year's Rs 135, it is Rs 10 more. Even though it is a good sign for the company, it is worth mentioning that the ARPU fell by almost Rs 20 as compared to the previous quarter. The company said that the growth in ARPU is because of focus on quality customers and upgrading legacy network users to 4G. Airtel's 4G subscriber base grew by 31.5% YoY basis, and the company added 43 million 4G customers in the complete year. The average data used per customer during the quarter was 16.4GB per month, while the voice usage was at 1,053 mins/customer/month. Airtel's Postpaid Business Saw Growth Bharti Airtel's postpaid business also saw a growth in numbers. The company added 630k customers in the last quarter in its postpaid portfolio. Over the complete year, Airtel added 1.9 million postpaid customers. With further investments in strengthening the network, the company rolled out 8,300 towers in the last quarter. Airtel also invested Rs 18,699 crore in purchasing 355.45 MHz of spectrum across several bands. Further, the company now has over 23 million VoWi-Fi customers who enjoy better indoor coverage. One big positive for the telco during the year was net profits. Last year Airtel posted a total loss of Rs 5,237 crore. However, for the quarter ending March 31, 2021, Airtel posted a net income of Rs 759 crore. This will be a major boost for the telco and further increase investors confidence in the business.

LG Disposing Rollables and Velvet 2 Pro by Selling to Employees Posted: 17 May 2021 04:27 AM PDT LG exited the smartphone business officially back in April this year which put a full stop to all the rumours. With the announcement the company has also established that the most awaited LG Velvet 2 Pro and Rollable display smartphones are never going to see the launch for the LG fans. However, in the latest leaked popular tipster, Tron has shared that the brand is offering the employees in South Korea to exclusively purchase either of the smartphones. Let's have a closer look at the latest leak about the LG Velvet 2 Pro and rollable phone. The tipster didn’t reveal the pricing and unit quantity information of the LG Rollable smartphone, but it does mention a lot about the Velvet 2 Pro. According to Tron, around 3000 units of the Velvet 2 Pro are up for grabs for its employees. Further, the tweet suggests that they will be available for sale at USD 176 (approx Rs 12,449). However, the company has some strict rules for the employees who are buying the units. No one is allowed to purchase more than two units and they can't resell the unit to anyone. Do note that the device will be eligible for a 12-month hardware warranty and it will not receive any software update. However, users can boot the device and punch the updates as per their requirements. LG Getting Rid of Velvet 2 Pro and Rollable Smartphones It seems that the company is doing nothing, just getting rid of the smartphones and disposing of its products. Unfortunately, we will still be on the unlucky side and won't be able to get our hands on the exclusive unreleased smartphones. According to the tipster, the LG Velvet 2 Pro is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset, clubbed with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The smartphone is said to flaunt a 6.8-inch FHD+OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate support and a waterdrop notch to accommodate the selfie camera. Under the hood, the smartphone is tipped to arrive with a 4,500mAh battery. Besides, the tipster also suggests that the handset will be available for sale in Black, Bronze, Ivory colour shades. Let us know your thoughts about the smartphones in the comment section below.

Bharti Airtel, Jio, Vi Set Up War Rooms to Combat Taukate Posted: 17 May 2021 03:43 AM PDT India is bracing for the events that will occur in the upcoming days due to the vicious cyclone Tauktae that has already affected areas like Kerala, Gujarat, Goa and Maharashtra, with a few states having announced the closure of their airports and hubs due to the same. To aid the relief and monitor the various impacts that will result from the cyclone, it was announced today that India's top telcos, Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea (Vi), have set up war rooms along with special teams in a bid to monitor the impact of the cyclone that has hit Maharastra, Gujarat and a few other states. These telcos and their infrastructure partners have also stocked up on spare parts and digital generators so as to ensure that digital connectivity, which has become increasingly important over the course of the last two years, would not be disrupted. What Are The Telcos Doing to Combat Taukte? Bharti Airtel and Jio have set up specialised war rooms and vendor offices wherein executives have been designated to monitor both the cyclone and the impacts that will result from it. The DoT, better known as the Department of Telecommunications, via its Disaster Management Division, is also supervising the developments that are taking place. Cyclone Tuaktae, which suddenly intensified into a severe cyclonic storm on Monday morning, was approximately 142 kms away from Mumbai as of 12 noon. It has already started to affect parts of Thane, Navi Mumbai and some parts of Mumbai, with reports of waterlogging and uprooting of trees surfacing. A spokesperson from Vi, speaking to ET Telecom, mentioned that they have ensured that enough fuel supply is provided to sites across all locations, with stocking at strategic areas in case of an emergency. Mobile DGs, critical equipment spares and vehicles have also been arranged for key locations. Jio has mentioned that it has set up war rooms in district and state levels, with generators being taken up on a rental basis, despite having their own diesel generators in case of a power failure, with a run time of 72 hours on hand in case of such an emergency. For those of you wondering, the cyclone first affected Kerela after originating near the Lakshwadeep Islands, moving on to Goa and coastal Maharastra, where it is currently moving in a parallel manner to the Konkan coast. It is expected to make landfall in the state of Gujarat either on Monday evening or during the early hours of Tuesday, as per officials from the metrological department.

Oppo Reno6 5G Leaked Live Images Ahead of Official Launch Posted: 17 May 2021 02:33 AM PDT Oppo is all set to launch its upcoming flagship Reno 6 series with the launch of the Reno 6, the Reno 6 Pro, and the Reno 6 Pro+. It has been rumoured to launch the smartphones on May 22nd, but the company is yet to reveal anything officially. We have already witnessed a series of leaks and rumours about smartphones and it has also appeared on numerous benchmarking and certification websites. Now, in the latest development, a popular tipster has shared the live images of the upcoming Oppo Reno 6 5G smartphone disclosing the design of the handset. Let's have a closer look at the latest leak of the Oppo Reno 6 5G smartphone. Oppo Reno 6 5G Live Images A popular tipster Abhishek Yadav has shared the live images of the upcoming Oppo Reno 6 5G revealing the design of the phone way ahead of the official launch. The leaked images show that the smartphone might feature a centred-drilled punch-hole camera cutout design with a bezel-less display. While the side facing image tipped that the handset will feature a metal frame and resembles a similar design to the iPhone 12. The leaked renders revealed that the handset will feature volume rocker keys on the left along with the antenna design. Besides, the tipster didn't reveal any information about the smartphone in terms of specifications and launch date. The smartphone also appeared on the TENAA listing with model number PEQM00. According to the certification site, the handset might feature a 6.43-inch display with 90Hz or 120Hz refresh rate support. Under the hood, the Oppo Reno 6 5G is tipped to be powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 900 chipset. The handset is said to be fuelled by a massive 4,200mAh battery with 65W fast charging support. The TENAA listing also claims that the handset will run on Android 11 out of the box based on ColorOS 11.1. Do note that the company is yet to reveal anything officially and it’s recommended to take this with a pinch of salt until the official announcement. Do let us know in the comment section your thoughts about the upcoming Oppo Reno 6 5G.

Samsung Galaxy A22 5G Found on Bluetooth SIG Listing, All to Know Posted: 17 May 2021 02:00 AM PDT Samsung is expected to launch a series of budget 5G smartphones in the remaining 2021. One of those devices is the Samsung Galaxy A22 5G. As per rumours online, the device might make it to the shelves by the end of June. The Galaxy A22 is expected to come in both 4G and 5G variants. Now the Samsung Galaxy A22 5G has been spotted on the Bluetooth SIG certification website. The listing has been confirmed by the popular tipster Mukul Sharma. As per the listing, the device is carrying model number SM-A226B. Samsung Galaxy A22 5G Specifications (Expected) The Samsung Galaxy A22 5G is expected to come with support for Bluetooth 5.0. Apart from the model number and the Bluetooth support, the listing didn't reveal any other information. Looking at the previous leaks, it can be expected that the device will feature a 6.4-inch FHD+ LCD display along with a water-drop notch at the top for the selfie-camera sensor. At the rear, the device is expected to feature a square-shaped triple camera system where the primary sensor is a 48MP lens. The other two sensors are unknown at the moment, but the selfie sensor is expected to be a 13MP lens. Further, the device is expected to be powered by the newly launched MediaTek Dimensity 700 SoC for the 5G variant while the 4G variant is expected to feature the MediaTek Helio G80 SoC. For additional security, the device is expected to feature a fingerprint sensor at the side. The 4G variant of the device might come with a quad-camera setup at the rear and feature a massive 5,000mAh battery with support for 15W fast-charging. The device is expected to come in four colours – White, Purple, Black, and Green. Samsung hasn't confirmed anything about the device yet, but it is expected to launch in the coming days. The Bluetooth SIG listing further stamps the possibility of the device launching in the month of June. The Samsung Galaxy A22 5G is expected to be one of the cheapest 5G smartphones from the company. The 4G variant of the device will also be priced in the budget segment.

Redmi Note 8 (2021) Edition Spotted on Bluetooth SIG Posted: 17 May 2021 01:00 AM PDT According to a spotting by MySmartPrice, The Redmi Note 8 (2021) edition is reported to be a work in progress by the smartphone manufacturer with the model number M1908C3JGG as it received Bluetooth SIG certification. The Redmi sub-brand series by Xiaomi has made its mark in the smartphone market for the best budget devices offering fairly high-end specs for that price point. Every year with the Note series, they target budget-conscious consumers, and rightly so, their devices get out of stock pretty soon. The original Redmi Note 8 was launched in 2019 with the same objective of providing above-average specs at a budget. Without any surprise, it had become one of the most popular devices at that price range. This is probably what is making the company go for a sequel to its three-year-old device. As we mentioned above, Redmi launches a new phone in the Note series every year. In 2021, Redmi also launched the Redmi Note 10. The launch of the Redmi Note 8 2021 edition is surely going to create some confusion amongst customers. Redmi Note 8 (2021) Specifications There were two listings made of the smartphone on the internet. The Bluetooth listing revealed that the device would run on MIUI 12+ that is Xiaomi's in-house operating system, and Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity. Secondly, the device was also spotted on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) website, which revealed that the device would be powered by MediaTek's Helio G85 SoC, with a 4,000mAh battery along with 22.5W fast charging support. The device codenamed 'biloba' would also come with a 48-megapixel quad camera setup. It is said to be launched in two variants, one with 4GB RAM and 64GB internal memory and another with 4GB RAM and 128GB internal memory. Original Redmi Note 8 (2019) Specifications Although that's all we know about the Redmi Note 8 2021 edition, for now, we can make a few guesses looking at the spec sheet of the original 2019 edition of the phone. The Redmi Note 8 2019 has a 6.29-inch full HD+ display with a resolution of 2340×1080 pixels. It is powered by the Snapdragon 665 SoC chipset and had an Adreno 610 GPU. With up to 6GB of RAM and 128 GB internal storage, it also had expandable storage support via a microSD card. It, too, has a 4,000mAh battery with 18W fast charging support. In terms of the camera department, it sports a quad-camera setup with a 48MP primary sensor, 8MP ultra-wide lens, 2 MP macro lens and 2Mp depth sensor for better portrait shots. It comes with Bluetooth 5.0 instead of Bluetooth 5.2 on the latest 2021 edition.

Telegram, Signal See 1200% Spike in Users Ahead of WhatsApp Privacy Policy Deadline Posted: 17 May 2021 12:14 AM PDT WhatsApp has been under immense scrutiny in recent months, from initially suggesting that users who do not accept its new terms of use would have their account deleted to a nationwide campaign about how their data would be safe, to stating that users who do not accept the terms will keep their accounts, but the features would start to fade. This has been nothing but good news for the messaging platform's primary competitors, namely Signal and Telegram, both of which offer better security and, in the case of Telegram, better features. It seems the average user has become more aware of tech and their privacy, since, according to a recent report, Telegram and Signal have seen a 1200% growth, incidentally during the final days ahead of the May 15 deadline for WhatsApp users. It seems the public outrage that started in January has been beneficial to both platforms. Signal, Telegram See 1200% Spike In Users Mobile application analytics firm Sensor Tower has reported that Telegram and Signal have both seen a massive spike in their adoption in January, around the same time when WhatsApp announced its updated privacy policy that would allow Facebook to gain data access from the messaging service. For those of you unaware, the deadline to accept this new policy was initially set for February 8, but the company revised it to May 15 post criticism from users. As per the report, in the first four months of 2021, Signal saw a total first-time download growth of 1,192% on a year-over-year (YoY) basis to 64.4 million users worldwide, with Telegram surging to a 98% improvement on a YoY basis. In stark contrast, WhatsApp's installs dipped 43% YoY to 172.3 million during the same period. In case you wish to know the exact numbers, Signal installs grew in January by a whopping 5,001% YoY to 50.6 million in comparison to the 992,000 in 2020. The install counts fell to around 86% month-over-month to somewhere around seven million. As per a statement by the firm, despite installs having declined each month since the initial spike in January, the application is experiencing consistent YoY growth each month, with 2.8 million downloads in 2021, in contrast to 1.3 million in 2020. Similarly, Telegram downloads rose 283% YoY to 63.5 million from 16.6 million. There was a 3% dip in its download in April, down to 26.2 million in 2021 from 27 million in 2020. To add to WhatsApp's woes, it seems that the Facebook-owned application was seeing an install decline prior to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in India, with a 28% drop in installs in April of 2020 in comparison to March.

PS5 Available From Today, Are You Buying? Posted: 16 May 2021 11:09 PM PDT Sony PlayStation 5 (PS5) is arguably the most sought after gaming console in India and around the world. Sony is finally availing the PS5 in India today at the Sony Center website and other online retail portals. For the first time, the company will also be bringing the PS5 Digital Edition to India that was supposed to launch with the disc edition of the PS5 back on February 2, 2021. You can start ordering the gaming console, which we expect to be limited in stock from 12 PM today. Both the disc edition and the digital edition of the PS5 will go on sale at the same time. PS5 and PS5 Digital Edition Price Note that the PS5 Digital Edition is only available on the Sony Center's website. Other e-commerce portals will only be selling the disc version of the gaming console. PS5 Digital Edition is priced lower at Rs 39,990, while the disc edition is priced at Rs 49,990. The PS5 disc edition is already available to be pre-ordered from the official e-commerce stores of Amazon and Flipkart. The DualSense controller, i.e., the remote of the gaming console, can also be purchased for an additional Rs 5,990. Initially, when the PS5 came to the market, there were only 4,000 units of the console made available for pre-orders. While we expect the numbers to be not as low as these, the gaming console will still come in limited quantity and will go out of stock before anyone can blink an eye. Sony has been a little partial with India when it came to the PS5 availability. This was because the company saw an increasing demand for the PS4 amidst pandemic. Sony must have felt that till the time PS4 is seeing good demand, there's no point in releasing the PS5 in wide numbers and taking the attention away from the sales of PS4 in India. The company said that it isn't able to deliver a large number of consoles in India due to chip shortages and delay in production. But this has not been the case in other countries where the availability of PS5 hasn't been an issue for most. Hopefully, Sony keeps on restocking PS5 as fast as possible in India to keep Indian fans satisfied.

DoT’s Delay in Revising NFAP Policy Costs Precious Time for 5G Trials Posted: 16 May 2021 10:36 PM PDT The faster the 5G trials conclude in the country, the faster the telecom service providers (TSPs) will be able to roll out the commercial 5G networks. However, due to the delay from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) in introducing a revised National Frequency Allocation Policy (NFAP), the telcos are in confusion about whether or not they should go ahead with the millimetre wave bands (26 GHz – 28 GHz) for conducting trials. Telcos Worried About Making Unnecessary Expenses During 5G Trials According to an ET Telecom report, the TSPs don't want to waste their time, money, and resources in conducting 5G trials with the millimetre wave (mmWave) bands if the DoT isn't even going to include it in the revised NFAP. All the use cases developed around 5G with the mmWave bands will be rendered useless if the DoT doesn't allot the coveted mmWave bands to the telcos at affordable rates. The industry had asked the telecom department to introduce a revised NFAP long back, but there has been no progress in the matter. The Cellular Operators Association of India's (COAI) Director-General, SP Kochhar, said that a reminder had been sent to the DoT for speeding up the announcement of a revised NFAP policy. Kochhar said that despite several meetings between DoT and the working bodies, the telecom department hasn't rolled out the revised NFAP. Telecom operators only need clarity on the availability of mmWave bands at affordable rates in the new NFAP so that it is feasible for them to develop 5G use cases around it. If the telecom department doesn't avail the coveted mmWave bands to the telcos at affordable rates, the deployment costs of 5G for the operators will jump multiple folds. This would further mean that the service would become too expensive for the end consumer to consume. The next 5G auctions will need to have the mmWave 5G bands so that the operators can roll out affordable 5G. Further, only then the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) would be able to examine and determine fresh pricing for the spectrum bands in the next auctions. If the DoT doesn't announce a revised NFAP soon, the trials will be delayed, and the 5G auctions will be delayed even further.

Reasons for Slow Internet Services in Rural Areas Posted: 16 May 2021 09:30 PM PDT Every country in the world has an urban side and a rural side. The Urban side of the country is the more modernised in terms of businesses, lifestyle, employment, and technology. The rural locations are geographically located in the outskirts of a city or country. With agriculture and other businesses in rural areas being more and more dependent on the internet, the need for the latest and seamless internet connections have been rising at a rapid pace. Internet is used for accepting and making payments, uninterrupted communications, automation of equipment, etc. These businesses and individuals are impacted due to the lack and limitations of internet services in rural areas. Technology is one sector that has been able to bridge the gap between the services provided in urban areas. Their infrastructures build across countries have been able to reach even the remote and rural parts. Be that as it may, the rural areas still have lesser options to choose from when it comes to internet operators as many don't see it as a profit rewarding market due to urbanisation. Here are some major reasons for Internet Services being unstable in rural areas. Expensive and Difficult Infrastructures Digging underground holes and installing fibre cables is not only expensive but also difficult in rural areas. The weather conditions, uneven roads and terrains are not ideal and make it a difficult environment to develop such infrastructures. The costs of such projects are usually high as the latest and most advanced equipment are used. Lack of Potential Customers/Applications As we mentioned in the previous points, the infrastructure required to support fast and stable internet connections are expensive to build. The cost factor makes ISP's sceptical about this decision. ISP's don't find it monetarily feasible to invest in rural areas as the population pool is small, and a number of small and medium-sized businesses are also only a few in number. Unclear Government Policies on Internet Service Mapping In countries like the US, internet service providers are required to fill and submitted a form to Federal Communications Commission (FCC). This form is filled with the purpose of reporting coverage areas and speed. Many ISP's declare that an area is serviceable by them even if just one household gets an internet connection in the area. Since this data is not double-checked and verified by the government, a large rural population remains devoid of internet services which the data shows they are receiving. Obsolete Technology A prevalent issue with rural areas is that the infrastructure is not regularly updated with time and technology. For example, If 3G infrastructure was built in a remote village in India, even after the world is fast adopting 5G now, the village infrastructure remains obsolete and would only be 3G capable. Outdated technology and infrastructure would make the rural population helplessly stuck to use whatever network is available to them.

Realme Watch S Review: Prioritising Form Over Function Posted: 16 May 2021 08:00 PM PDT Realme as a company has had a quirky history, having debuted fairly recently in 2017 and catapulting to fame in the four years that have passed. Its smartphones have always been trading blows with Xiaomi, the segment leader which was one of the primary driving force for the sales that the company achieved. When the company announced that it would be launching a smartwatch, everyone expected them to launch a product worthy of competing with the budget smartwatch champions, Amazfit. What followed was a shocker, to say the least. The Realme Watch was riddled with bugs, offered a poorly built chassis and the overall price to value proposition was far from competitive. Fast forward to 2020, the company's third year in the Indian market, with Realme deciding to give the smartwatch segment another try with the Realme Watch S. It is this product that I have been using on a daily basis for over two months. So, let us see whether the product is worthy of competing with Redmi or Xiaomi and whether or not Realme has capitalised on the second chance that it had when it came to a smartwatch. Realme Watch S Review: Design and Display Realme has never been one for premium build and design since the company has usually chosen to go with cheaper materials and a decent build rather than go all out on the design, so, to our surprise, it was quite refreshing to hold the Realme Watch S. From the strap to the 47mm aluminium casing, it is a breath of fresh air for us, especially considering how the last smartwatch that was our primary smartwatch was the Amazfit Bip U, which, whilst built ruggedly is nothing in front of the Watch S. The entirety of the case weighs 48g, much more than the 1st gen Realme Watch. As a further testament to the better build quality, the entire casing has been paired with high quality 22mm silicone straps that are also interchangeable to your liking, from the normal straps to the leather strap. As for the display, the Realme Watch S sports a 1.3-inch LCD panel with a resolution of 360 x 360. For protection, the company has opted for Gorilla Glass 3 on top. The display has a peak brightness of 600 nits, oddly higher than the more expensive Watch S Pro. We think that the reason for the higher brightness could be the use of the backlight in LCD panels. Do note that the lack of an AMOLED means there is no always-on functionality and certain dark wallpapers don't look as good as they do on the Watch S Pro. Raise to wake works like a charm and there is an ambient light sensor at the 59' mark which controls the brightness quite quickly. The auto-brightness functionality being so accurate was a bit of a surprise, considering the price. As for the quality of the screen, despite having bashed the watch against a wall by accident, no major scratches have appeared and, in day to day use the display responds to the touch quite well and is pretty responsive. There is one issue, however, the sensor that activates the display is quite active and at times gets triggered by accident, sometimes hampering the task at hand. In terms of the other parts of the chassis, the display is flanked to its right side by two physical buttons at the 10' and 20' mark, mapped to open the app drawer and the workout mode, respectively. They can be rotated, but they lack any function. The Realme Watch S also comes with an IP68 rating for water resistance making the device usable during sweaty workouts or during a shower. Realme Watch S Review: Performance and Battery To use the Realme Watch S, one needs to download the Realme Link application, which can be downloaded on both iOS and Android. Once the watch is paired to the application, you can make changes to the settings and download new watch faces. When it comes to the software, Realme makes use of a custom skin that seems like a third-party WearOS build. It does not seem childish or tacky, but it is not quite simple. To use the UI, you can press the first button to the top and it will showcase the entire navigation screen that houses all the features on offer. To select a certain feature, you need to press the icon for the specific feature and it will get activated. In terms of key features, one can convert the watch into a shutter button by activating it through Realme Link. Other UI features include the ability to receive notifications, but you cannot reply to them, which is not something to complain about as this is the case with alternatives on offer for the same price and, for some higher-end options as well. Fitness too is a key aspect of the Realme Watch S, since the watch offers the ability to track sleep, including REM sleep, the total number of steps covered over the course of the day, distance covered and calories burnt. The SpO2 sensor and heart rate sensor are supplementary features that might be used, but, there is a minor issue here. Whilst the heart rate sensor is quite accurate with alternatives priced similarly, the SpO2 sensor appears to be flawed as it fails to provide consistent data, dropping to a score of 60 then suddenly jumping to 98, which, in these times is not something that a user would like to see. Step tracking was fairly decent, with sleep tracking being quite accurate, but the only issue that we noted with step tracking was a constant under tracking that was occurring, since, when compared to the likes of the Mi Band 4 or the Amazfit Bip U, the watch would regularly track around 100-200 steps less. The one truly wonderful feature for the Realme Watch S is the battery life, with the device lasting over 15 days on a consistent basis, even lasting up to 17 days on one instance where sleep tracking was not in use. The numbers here were achieved by SpO2 tracking thrice a day and constant step tracking with sleep tracking being used. There should be a decrease in the battery life with heart rate sensing on, but, from what has been observed, around 1 to 2 weeks of battery life should be a guarantee regardless of your use case. Charging too is quite fast, with the initial 60% being charged rapidly, with the charging slowing down in the latter half to protect the battery's life. Realme Watch S Review: Verdict The Realme Watch S gets a lot of things right and very few features could make you dislike it. From a great build to decent health tracking, there are no major issues that could potentially raise some concerns, but, as we regularly mention, there are issues with each and every product and it is no different for the Watch S. The constant under-tracking is an issue that would get on your nerves, especially if you are a runner or endurance focused performer since every bit of data could be useful for you. Overall, the Realme Watch S lacks any major issues and performs decently if not well in all instances and, for a price of Rs 4,999 that usually drops to Rs 4,499, it is one of the most well-rounded options out there. According to us, if you are looking for a smartwatch that can provide basic features that might supplement your smartphone usage whilst providing a bit of a style quotient, the Realme Watch S is meant for you.

JioFiber Broadband Plans for Streaming Needs Posted: 16 May 2021 06:31 PM PDT In a short period, JioFiber has become one of the prominent fibre internet service providers (ISPs) of India. JioFiber is the broadband arm of Reliance Jio that offers very competitive internet plans to users with over-the-top (OTT) benefits and unlimited data. Note that every plan comes with a fair usage policy (FUP) limit on data. Because of the lockdowns, the need for a strong internet connection that can fulfil every need of a user, including 4K content streaming, has increased. JioFiber offers users broadband plans that can be used for streaming high-quality content. Let's take a look at all of them. JioFiber Broadband Plans for Streaming There are three plans that an average user can purchase from JioFiber to fulfil his/her streaming needs. These plans come with 150 Mbps, 300 Mbps, and 500 Mbps speeds. All the plans come with 3.3TB FUP data along with unlimited voice calling. The download and upload speeds with both the plans are symmetrical so that users get a consistent internet experience from the company. The 150 Mbps plan comes for Rs 999 per month (exclusive of taxes) and offers users OTT subscriptions of Amazon Prime Video, Hoichoi, Voot Select, Voot Kids, ShemarooMe, Discovery+, Disney+ Hotstar VIP, ALT Balaji, JioSaavn, JioCinema, Eros Now, Lionsgate Play, and more. The other two plans with 300 Mbps and 500 Mbps speeds come with all the same OTT benefits, but they have an added benefit of Netflix. It is a standard Netflix subscription that costs Rs 649 per month. The 300 Mbps plan comes for a monthly cost of Rs 1,499, and the 500 Mbps plan comes for a monthly cost of Rs 2,499. None of the prices is inclusive of GST. These three plans are perfect for streaming for multiple reasons. One, they offer great downloading speeds, which mean you can play 4K content on multiple devices all at the same time. Even if you have a big family, you won't have to face issues such as network congestion because of the high bandwidth. Second, the OTT benefits that come with the plans will ensure that you won't have to purchase standalone subscriptions of different platforms to stream content. This will help you save a lot of money. Further, users are eligible to receive the Jio Set-Top Box (STB) with their connection so that they can stream content from their favourite OTT platforms directly on their TVs. Lastly, the amount of data that's offered with the broadband plans is enough to help users stream and download their favourite shows without worrying about exhausting monthly data. These are the reasons why the above-mentioned plans make for the perfect case for users who have serious streaming needs.

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