How Huawei Created The Best Phone Camera In the P20 Pro

The Huawei P20 Pro is finally here (and coming to India soon) and it’s the first-ever smartphone to feature a triple camera system on the rear. The Chinese giant has placed much attention on how their camera system, backed by artificial intelligence in image processing and scene recognition, is breaking boundaries for mobile photography enthusiasts.

Over the past year, smartphone aficionados agreed that the Google Pixel 2 and iPhone X had arguably the best phone cameras on the market. Period. This is true even for DXOMark, but the crown was first snatched away by the Galaxy S9+ last month, then Xiaomi stole it briefly with the Mi Mix 2S and Huawei had now smugly taking the prime position.

At least, that’s what the whopping 109 DxOMark score (if you care about scores) and the initial hands-on experiences with the P20 Pro have revealed. So, let’s see what makes the cameras tick and how it compares to the competitors:

Hardware Specs

Starting off with the basics, the Huawei P20 Pro has three cameras on the back. Developed by Huawei’s long-time camera partner Leica, P20 Pro is packing a 40-megapixel primary RGB sensor, a secondary 20-megapixel mono sensor and a third 8-megapixel telephoto sensor to round up the party.

This is the first modern to sport a 40MP camera sensor, but it has previously made an appearance on the uber-popular Nokia Lumia series. You do remember the Lumia 1020, right?

p20 pro camera specs

To make it latest smartphone to stand out in this cluttered ecosystem, Huawei has taken a major stride in photography technology. The high-resolution 40MP lens will allow you to capture immensely detailed pictures, with a wider color gamut.

Pairing it with the 20MP monochrome (captures black and white images) sensor, the Huawei P20 Pro will have more data for enhanced depth estimation to produce bokeh effects and help catch more detail with low levels of noise for producing sharper photos.

Coming to the third and final camera, Huawei is using an 8MP telephoto lens with a 3x zoom capability. While most popular phones, such as the iPhone X or any other dual-camera phone give you a 2x zoom factor, Huawei is taking things a step forward with its photo technology. This lens also features OIS (Optical Image Stabilisation).

Further, using the 40MP wide-angle lens in conjunction with the 8MP telephoto one enables the P20 Pro to capture loss-less 5x zoom photos. The Chinese giant is using a new ‘hybrid zoom’ technology, which comes into play when you push past the native 3x zoom available with the lens.

Android 8.1 Oreo Brings Carrier Video Calling to Nokia 5, Nokia 6 and Nokia 8

HMD Global recently started the rollout of Android 8.1 Oreo update for the Nokia 5 and the first generation Nokia 6 in multiple regions including India. Aside from bringing a host of aesthetic changes, system improvements and the Android security patch for March, any other notable feature was not mentioned in the changelog.

However, the update has finally introduced a feature Nokia smartphone users have been demanding for quite long – support for carrier video calls.

Image Courtesy: Nokia Power User
Until now, users had to rely on third-party video calling or messaging apps to make a video call, but now, they can do so with the default phone app on their Nokia smartphone. The new update has added a dedicated video calling button in the phone app which allows users to make a carrier video call. However, it is not clear whether the carrier video calling feature supports seamless transition between voice and video calls.

In addition to the Nokia 5 and Nokia 6 (2017), the carrier video calling feature is now also available on the Nokia 8 too, as the device has already received the Android 8.1 Oreo beta update back in January. As per a report, the carrier video calling feature is enabled by default on Nokia smartphones running Android 8.1 Oreo. Users can switch between the front and rear camera view between their video calls, as is evident by the dedicated ‘switch’ button in the video call UI.

If you want to enable/disable the carrier video calling feature on your Nokia smartphone, just follow the below listed steps:

Go to Settings


Network & Internet


Tap on Mobile Network


Advanced > Carrier Video Calling


And that’s it. You should now be able to make video calls without needing any apps such as WhatsApp or Google Duo.

5 Hidden Facebook Settings You Should Change Right Now

With the Cambridge Analytica scandal rocking through social media this past week, Facebook has come under fire from a lot of people, with a lot of people deleting their Facebook accounts in protest. Deleting your Facebook account makes little to no sense, but if you’re concerned about your personal data being stored by Facebook and then being misused, here are 5 Facebook settings you should change to give away as little of your data as is possible.

Check Apps and Services


The most important thing to do, if you’re trying to ensure that you’re giving away as little of your data as possible, is to check the apps and services you’ve connected to your Facebook account. This can be done very easily, but somehow no one usually does it. We just log in to third-party apps, services, and websites with our Facebook account, with no regard for what data they’re collecting.

Simply go to ‘Account Settings‘, and then ‘Apps.’


Here, you’ll be shown a list of apps that you’ve connected to your Facebook account. Review them, and remove the ones you don’t use anymore.


When you remove the apps you’ll see a pop-up telling you that the app may retain data it has already collected. That’s something you can’t fix, but at least if you remove the app it won’t be able to collect any more data in the future, which is definitely a win.

Limit Information Friends Share About You
One of the weirdest, and honestly quite creepy things that Facebook does is that if your friend accesses a website or an app with their Facebook account, the website or app may actually get access to your personal data as well. If that’s not creepy, I don’t know what is. Fortunately, though, there’s an easy way to make sure this doesn’t happen in the future at least.



In ‘Account Settings‘ and ‘Apps‘, you’ll see a section marked as “Apps Others Use“
Under this section, click on ‘Edit‘


Uncheck the information that you don’t want Facebook to share with websites and services that your friends use.


Once done, click on ‘Save Changes‘ and you’re set.
Personally, I’ve unchecked every single thing in this setting, but if you’re okay with sharing some of your information with websites and apps, feel free to leave that unchecked.

Manage App Permissions
Facebook also brings its very own set of apps including the Facebook app, and the Messenger app — two of the most popular ways of accessing the social media website on mobile. If you’re using any (or both) of these apps, you should definitely do the following things:

Manage Permissions for the Facebook App:

Go to App Information for the Facebook App, and tap on ‘Permissions‘.


Here, uncheck permissions like ‘SMS‘, ‘Telephone‘, ‘Contacts‘, and ‘Microphone‘.
You can actually revoke all of the permissions from the Facebook app and it will still work, however, there are a few trade-offs:



Without the Storage permission, the Facebook app won’t let you upload media on Facebook, or save media from Facebook to your smartphone.
Without the Camera and Microphone permission, the Facebook app won’t let you use the ‘Facebook Camera’ to shoot and upload stories on the social media website. It also wouldn’t let the app do anything else that needs to use the camera on your phone.


Manage Permissions for Messenger:

Similarly, when installing Facebook Messenger on your phone, make sure you don’t turn on ‘Text Anyone in Your Phone‘, and ‘Send and Receive SMS in Messenger‘.


Also, don’t add your phone number to Messenger either.
In case you’ve already opted into these features, you can uninstall Messenger from your phone and reinstall it to get the same options again.

Restricting these permissions is important because this is exactly how Facebook got access to people’s call history, message logs and more — something that people are now worried about (as they should be). Being aware of the permissions you’re granting to an app is an easy way to avoid a lot of privacy nightmares.



In fact, if you’re wondering whether Facebook has your contacts uploaded to its servers, you can actually check that. Simply head over to this link, and you’ll see the contacts you’ve synced with Facebook.

You can click on the ‘Delete All’ button to delete the contacts from Facebook’s servers.

Alternatively, you can head over to ‘Account Settings’ and then click on ‘Download a copy of your Facebook data’ to get a copy of everything Facebook knows about you. This is not for the faint-hearted and will most likely scare you.

Reliance Jio Was The Fastest 4G Network in February: TRAI

Jio and Airtel may be at loggerheads about the fastest network in the country but the regulatory body has stepped in to clear the air on the issue. According to a new report from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Reliance Jio was the fastest 4G service provider in the country in February 2018.

The Mukesh Ambani-led company was followed by Airtel, Vodafone and Idea in positions two, three and four respectively. TRAI calculates average speeds based on data it collects through its ‘MySpeed’ app that’s available for free on both Android and iOS.
                      

According to the report, Jio registered average download speeds of 21.3Mbps last month, while Airtel clocked only 8.8Mbps. Vodafone and Idea could only manage 7.2Mbps and 6.8Mbps respectively. In terms of upload speeds, however, Idea came in at number one with average speeds of 6.9Mbps. Vodafone, Jio and Airtel came in at numbers two, three and four respectively with 5.5Mbps, 4.5Mbps and 3.9Mbps.


While Jio might celebrate the results of TRAI’s latest report, the fact remains that India continues to be suffer from some of the slowest network speeds in the world. In fact, global speed-test leaders, Ookla, recently released a report that claimed the country ranked 109 globally in terms of network speeds. Another report earlier this year from OpenSignal claimed that India had the slowest internet speeds among 88 nations surveyed for its study.

Amazon Gives Alexa DVR Skills For Select Streaming Services, TV Providers

The latest update to Amazon Alexa’s Video Skill API is adding some cool new capabilities to the smart digital assistant. According to the retail giant, the new software will now enable users to record to a DVR via voice commands. Users will now also be able to use voice to navigate to frequently used options in their compatible DVRs or streaming services. That includes launching an app, opening the programming guide, execute playback / pause commands, and more.



Amazon also says that the update will enable Alexa to better handle multiple video skills at once, so a new voice command shouldn’t create any problems even if you’ve already enabled another video skill. That being the case, users can just say ‘Alexa, record the Red Sox game’ or ‘Alexa, Launch Prime Video’ to get the job done. Of course, the commands will work with any sports team and any streaming service.

Google Will Retire goo.gl URL Shortener, but Existing Links Will Work

Google has announced that it will shut down its popular goo.gl URL shortening service and replace it with Firebase Dynamic Links. 

The migration will start on April 13, when new users who have never before created goo.gl links will no longer be able to create new links. Existing users, however, can continue using the service until March 31, 2019, which is when the company will fully discontinue it. Thankfully, though, all existing links will still continue to work as intended.


The same will apply to developers as well, with Google saying that only projects that have accessed URL Shortener APIs before will be able to create short links beyond May 30, 2018. The company intends to discontinue the APIs for good from March 30, 2019. Beyond that, Google hopes developers will use FDL APIs for their URL shortening needs.

“As it is for consumers, all links will continue to redirect to the intended destination after March 30, 2019. However, existing short links will not be migrated to the Firebase console/API”
                        

Firebase Dynamic Links (FDLs), which is replacing the goo.gl service, is also a Google service that’s based on the company’s Firebase mobile and web app management platform. One of the clear advantages of this move is that users get the best experience for the platform they are using when viewing the link. They can be taken directly to the linked content in a native Android or iOS app on mobile, or the content on the website when viewing it on a PC.

Gionee Says Restructuring India Team but 'Here to Stay'

Reacting to an IANS report that financial woes in China may hit Gionee's India operations, David Chang, Global Sales Director, Gionee India, said that the brand is here to stay.

"We are in the process of restructuring our India team and executing a completely different business model for the brand very soon," Chang told IANS.

Sources said the company may scale down its operations in India and introduce a different business model to ramp up growth.

"We're equally excited about our presence in the Indian market and will like to assure all the gionee lovers that the brand is here to stay," Chang added.

The company had 2.2 percent share in the Indian smartphone market for 2017, according to Counterpoint Research.

Gionee, which established its presence in India in 2012, claims to have retail presence in over 42,000 stores and has 600 exclusive service centers in the country. It also claims a customer base of 1.25 crores in the country.

The company has also been aggressively pushing for sports sponsorship.

Chang also refuted reports in the Chinese media that the company is facing financial woes in paying its suppliers.

"Recently, on 16th January 2018, some slanderous information about Gionee's senior executive was reported on social media, in an attempt to malign the reputation of the company," Chang told IANS.

"We, hereby, announce this information is proved to be untrue," the Gionee executive added.

Chinese media outlets reported last month that a local court has frozen 41.4 percent stake of Gionee Chairman and Chief Executive Liu Li Rong for two years.

Although the exact reason was not made public, reports said it was because of the "gambling debts".

"Gionee continues to hold a market share of 3.3 percent in China and is determined to grow steadily over the years to come," Chang said.

Back in India, after running domestic operations for nearly five years, Gionee India's CEO and Managing Director Arvind Vohra stepped down last August. Vohra still continues as Executive Director.

Last year, the company announced it would invest Rs. 500 crore in a new manufacturing / assembling unit in Faridabad, Haryana, but there was no news after that.

The company also makes / assembles handsets at a Foxconn plant in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh.


On January 9, Gionee sent out a teaser to the media, revealing its plan to launch another smartphone in India soon. No launch date was shared.

Jio Prime Subscribers to Get Another Year of Free Services

Jio Prime subscribers who pay the Rs. 99 membership fee before March 31, 2018 will receive another year of free services, according to a report by Gadgets 360. Users who have paid for Prime membership will not have to buy it again and will receive the benefits of the service for another year at no additional cost. 

However, users who join the network or opt for Jio Prime on or after April 1 will have to pay the Rs. 99 membership charge.

As part of the Prime membership, customers will be provided all the Prime benefits, however, they will have to go through an opt-in process to avail the free service until March 2019. The ongoing Jio Prime subscription for all customers is scheduled to end tomorrow, regardless on when they purchased the membership. 

Google Says Its AI Will Predict the Result of Final Four NCAA 2018 Games at Half-Time

The 2018 NCAA Tournament’s Final Four round is set to kick off tomorrow, but among the eager fans who’ll be there on the sidelines to cheer their favorite team, a bunch of techies will be preparing to do something truly astonishing – predicting the final outcome before the second half even begins.

Google has announced that its group of technicians, data scientists, and basketball enthusiasts will attend the Final Four games, but instead of cheering for either team, the ‘Wolfpack’ will utilize Google’s AI-powered analytics tool to predict the game’s final outcome and also create ads in just 9 minutes using a cutting-edge simulation tool.

This weekend, we’ll attempt to do exactly that during the Final Four in San Antonio—and we’ll be sharing our predictions in real-time TV ads you can see during halftime. Here’s how it’ll work.

Google partnered with NCAA last year to create a digital database of over 80+ years of game data from 90 championship leagues on the Google Cloud Platform, that would later be studied and analyzed by tools like BigQuery, Cloud Spanner, Datalab, Cloud Machine Learning and Cloud Dataflow. The goal was to create a predictive analytics platform that could help in a better analysis of team and player performances, improve the accuracy of forecasts and create analysis workflows.

At the Final Four games, Google’s team and the algorithms will examine the data from first half and run a predictive analytics tool to generate the final outcome. This data will be used by another on the ground to create an ad right from the court. The ad, predicting the final outcome, will be created using a real-time rendering system built by Cloneless and Eleven Inc., both of which are based on Google’s cloud platform.

The TV ad will be broadcasted by TBS, making it the first time that a game’s final result has been predicted analytically and presented in the form of an advert before even the second half begins. It would be an impressive achievement for Google, but the severity of outrage from fans of the losing team (as per the prediction) is something Google surely can’t predict. We wish them all the best, though!