It was slightly less than four years ago, when Asus, a Taiwan-based brand better known in India for its computer hardware (and making the Google Nexus 7 tablet!), surprised everyone when it launched the Asus ZenFone 5, an Android smartphone that laid siege to the likes of the Moto G with its excellent design, hardware, and software. This was not Asus’ first sally in smartphone waters – the company had launched some Windows Mobile devices in the past, some of which were surprisingly affordable (it had a model for around Rs 10,000 with a stylus, which, in 2007, was a big deal!...

And now, as we are nearing the annual Google I/O conference, it seems that Larry Page and company is taking the next logical step to spread Google Now – its appearance on the Mac OS X. Google has always been smart with notification related products, since we are becoming so dependent on them, every day. Google Now for Mac OS X is in the works Soon enough, Google Now will be all over the place and we’ll become quite used to it....

We’ve already lost count of how many new Chinese companies are entering the Indian market, but it’s no wonder, as the country is somewhat close to China and India is also the world’s third largest and the fastest growing smartphone market. And even if Coolpad doesn’t ring a bell, you should know that this company was once the biggest smartphone vendor in China, but it didn’t manage to keep up with the strong and mature competition coming from other companies....

On the imaging front, the device comes with a 13-Megapixel primary snapper and a 5-Megapixel secondary sensor. The Coolpad Note 3 offers 16GB of internal storage along with an microSD card that can accommodate another 64GB of memory. The device boasts of all the connectivity features including 4G LTE and Dual SIM connectivity. The USP of device is definitely the price point. At Rs 8,999 (~$140), Coolpad Note 3 might very well be the most affordable phone to come with a fingerprint scanner....

When Windows 10 launches next week, Microsoft’s Cortana voice assistant will be coming to the U.S., UK, China, France, Italy, Germany and Spain. And now Microsoft has confirmed that Windows Insider members from six more countries will get Cortana, as well. These include Australia, Canada (English only), India (English) and Japan in the “coming months.” and Brazil, Mexico and French-speaking Canadians later this year. Even if Cortana is also going to be available in English in India, Australia and Canada, it takes such a long while to bring it to them because Microsoft is busy working on local customization which puts into focus each individual country and culture....

And one of the apps that revels in this sort of situation is the aptly named Summly. Marketed as “pocket sized news for iPhone” (it works on the iPad too, but take our word for it, it works best on the iPhone or iPod touch) Summly specializes in serving up algorithmically generated summaries of news items to your handset. That in itself would be pretty handy – imagine having to go through 400 characters rather than 800 words to get to grips with a development – but what makes the app really stand out is the manner in which this has been implemented....

It may be sounding like one, but we swear this is not a shopper’s rant. Not yet. This is actually about a new (old) marketing strategy that many smartphone brands have started adopting of late. It is the tale of the asterisk in the tech world. That price being offered includes offers These days, when a brand launches a new phone and claims that it comes with a certain starting price, we suggest you keep an eye out for this tiny symbol somewhere near the price....

On its developers page, Apple announces the launch of the latest beta version of Xcode. The development tool is receiving a number of interesting features, but more significantly, it outlines a big change to company’s policy. Starting with the beta of Xcode version 7, the company is allowing developers to test their apps on Apple devices even if they don’t have a developer membership. This makes it possible for unsigned developers — those who don’t have an eligible developer account (which is also paid) — to deploy their own apps on their own devices....

In India, Dyson has finally introduced their newest handheld vacuum; the Dyson V12 Detect Slim. This one is like a cross between the V11 Absolute and the V15 Detect (which is yet to be launched here). We have been using it for a few days now, and here’s our Dyson V12 Slim Detect review. We are trying a different format this time around. So do let us know your feedback in the comments section below....

“I like classical music,” he explains in a voice that is rather soft for such a tall man. “Actually I was brought up with a lot of classical music. My great grandfather was a composer, my grandmother was a composer. My great grandfather was Iceland’s probably most recognized classical music composer. So while I was a kid, I would sit on my grandmother’s lap while she was playing the piano....

Although users can use just about any picture they want as a cover photo, most of the time, they will search for something that suits their moods or something that just looks awesome. And we’ve seen some awesome Facebook covers from inspired users, but for those who want the easy way out, or who do not possess the skills to modify photos in a professional program, there is a solution, and today we’ll be talking about it....

Honestly speaking, I had never heard of this software till now. A quick background check revealed that Steganos is a German company which has been in security based product development since 1996, with several products like Steganos Privacy Suite, Steganos Safe, Steganos Password Manager, Steganos Internet Anonym VPN and Steganos Trace Destructor. Steganos Privacy Suite is user-friendly with a simple interface. Users can secure portable device, manages and organizes all password and access information with password manager, and delete unwanted data permanently with file shredder....

While browsing, I found that some people have “Verified name” badge next to their names on their Google Profiles. This is much similar to the “Verified account” badge on Twitter. Moreover, having a Google verified profile enables your profile name to appear in Google web results! Now, that’s a real cool bonus, isn’t it? Luckily, verifying a Google Profile is not too tough really. The only thing is, currently, this works only in US right now....

GetMOOH is there to help you!! Getmooh is an automated call back service. It is designed to help you escape a variety of situations by calling you automatically on your phone at a pre-specified time and playing you a recording which will either instruct you on what to say to elude your tormentor(s), or which will simply give a convincing sense of you being on an important call. It also lets you send a prank call to a friend!...

Many of you are already familiar with this tool, it has proven its worth time and again and it has provided us with great information, and now, a tiny update will make it even better. It can easily slip your eyes if you are not looking for it, but the “Cite” button can render you a very well written citation. Where to find the “Cite” button and how to use it The button can be found under each search result....

Yes, the Google Arts & Culture app will match your portrait against the ones from more than 1,000 different museums and show you the match. The app is currently available for both iOS and Android. The Google Arts & Culture app has been around for quite some time but it has only recently picked up the portrait comparison feature. The first time you open the app, it pushes a popup that says “Is your portrait in a museum?...

The browser, once savior, today is infamous for the trouble it is causing to users. And things have gotten worse in the last few months. While Chrome for Android isn’t as bad as its desktop counterpart while sipping resources, it too has been flagged by users for notorious activities. The Google Chrome team recently did an AMA on Reddit where they acknowledged that they are aware of the issue and are working on a fix on the mobile client of Chrome....

Samsung, a few months back, launched a similar software feature on its Galaxy S8 smartphone under the title of Bixby Vision. However, Google’s approach will certainly bring a more general and coherent experience to the Android landscape. Furthermore, Google’s knowledge graph and the database will allow them to pull up significantly better results from the internet which will only get better over time. Moreover, at I/O, Google also announced that its mobile operating system – Android has crossed over 2 Billion monthly active users which is quite incredible....

However, that said, just like any other video conferencing software, Google Meet also has its share of problems that occasionally pose some inconvenience. If you’re on Windows 10, one particular issue that might trouble you the most is when Meet fails to access your device’s webcam. Often displayed as a “camera failed” error, this issue is not just limited to the Windows operating system and can sometimes occur even on macOS....

Here’s how apps and books, or just any other recommendation system works: much like personalized ads, which are targeted at one’s personal taste – the things you buy online, the things you seem to be interested in, Google logs relevant content. If that wasn’t scary enough, it also shows you what your friends (or people you’ve in your Google+ circle) are recommending. I, for one, am not really a fan of erotic content, heck, even if I was, I wouldn’t use my work email ID to access such things....