TeCH Update – 05th Feb 2015

Greetings Readers,

I thought of summarizing and presenting to you some of the most significant news that have been doing the rounds in the tech world yesterday. So here they are:

1. Xiaomi Does Not Intend To Enter The U.S. Market Anytime Soon:

Chinese hardware manufacturer and new poster child of the mobile masses – Xiaomi is conducting an SFO based event this 12th of February. However Hugo Barra, (one of the key figures at Google previously who then joined Xiaomi as VP-International) insists that they are not entering the US market anytime soon. This could very well be a check on the interest levels of the company’s products amongst American audiences, carriers.

For the sake of the ‘value-for-money’ seeking Americans I hope Xiaomi devices hit your shores soon.

Source: Technobuffalo

2. “Paper” Given Free To Promote “Pencil” Sales:

The popular drawing/sketching/painting app called “Paper” by 53 (Company name – FiftyThree or 53) yesterday announced that the so far paid ‘in-app purchase’ will be available free of charge from today.

Quick, download it from here: Paper App

They have done so to improve the sales of the hardware device by the name “Pencil”, shown above. The “Pencil” by 53 is a slick new device that when paired with the iPad can be used to draw practically anything.

Check out their awesome video: Pencil by 53

Source: Macrumors

3. Worlds Most Expensive “Typo” – By Ryan Seacrest

Ryan Seacrest (the popular TV Celeb of American Idol fame) had launched an external case for the iPhone with a physical keyboard. This case bears a stark resemblance to the keyboard that a lot of Blackberry devices have (refer image below). The courts had ordered ‘Typo’ to stop sales for the same reasons, yet the order was not honored by the company. This has now resulted in a fine of $860,000 that Typo must pay Blackberry. What needs to be mentioned however is that Blackberry had demanded a compensation of $2.6 million (in penalties) + legal charges, so its isn’t as bad as it seems. 

Fun Fact: $860,000 is just about 1/75th Ryan’s annual salary and about 1/350th his net worth according to CelebrityNetworth.com.

Source: Macrumors

4. Swatch Is About To Enter The Smartwatch Game Soon:

The swiss watch giant apparently has made it clear that they are entering the smart watch industry. Their first smartwatch is expected to be launched in the next two to three months. This puts it head-on against Apple’s AppleWatch release dates expected to hit shores around April 2015.

Game on Apple!

Source: Macrumors

5. Fresh Breath Of “OxygenOS” For OnePlus One Soon:

OnePlus, the Chinese manufacturer that has created a lot of buzz with their first device the OnePlus ‘One’ has announced their new ROM’s name – “OxygenOS”. This device although has been announced for more thanhalf a year has not seen widespread adoption, thanks in part to the extremely lean supply of devices. The new ROM OxygenOS is expected to be as close to stock android Lollipop (Android 5.0.X) as possible with as least bloatware as possible. This has a lot to live up to considering the freedom of customization CyanogenMod has given and users have gotten used to.

Source: OnePlus Facebook

Special Mention: Next post is going to be on Mr. Satya Nadella (CEO, Microsoft)

Thank you for your time…

Regards,

@TeCH_SiD

iPhone 6/6+ on Vodafone – Bundled Plans 2.0

Dear Readers,
Thank you for your time. I appreciate your interest in my blog post and more importantly in technology. I’d like to bring to your notice the first (actually second if you consider Reliance with their iPhone 5S deals last year) real push by a telco giant (second largest in India – Vodafone) for postpaid cellular plans with a bundled mobile device. This particular one is significant as it has the most sought after mobile devices in the world – iPhone 6 and 6+.

Vodafone – iPhone 6 plans

This is significant at many levels.

• Firstly it is the biggest push by an international telco in tie up with an international handset manufacturer in India where bundled plans are far from common.

Secondly it is a huge push driving the significance of mobile data as a huge business for telcos and hence the bundling.

Telcos like Idea Cellular are pushing for mobile internet at a grass-root level and now at semi-urban levels too by starting their own internet learning initiative with the IIN (Idea Internet Network).

Effective Cost To Consumer (CTC):

The iPhone 6 retails at Rs.53,500 via Infibeam. Via this plan the final amount you’d be paying considering you are going for the basic iPhone 6 (16GB) model, regardless of the color option would be – Rs.3,599 * 24 = Rs.86,376. Subtract the cost of the device from it and you’d be paying an effective monthly overhead of Rs.1369.

But please remember, this is not what it looks like – a daylight robbery by Vodafone. What they have included is the plan for your monthly usage. The most basic pack is the Vodafone ‘iPhone 6k plan’ which gives the user 6000 local & STD minutes, 6GB of 3G data and 1500 SMS. Without much research into the actual price (and don’t hold me for this) for this plan I’m pegging it at around Rs.1500 per month. They are giving it at Rs.1369 effectively.

Does it make sense to go for this plan?

Well to be honest, this plan is not for everyone. If you have a postpaid plan and are paying a good Rs.1500 and above on a monthly basis and are not too picky about your usage amounts, then this is perfect for you. For heavy users, there’s another plan which is the ‘iPhone 10k plan’ For an additional 500 bucks, you get an additional 4000 minutes, 4GB more data and 1000 SMS. Pretty good value for money if you consider you’re getting a kickass iPhone 6 along with it.

What’s the Downside?

Like they say:

If it seems too good to be true, it most probably is!

Well luckily this isn’t the case with this plan with Vodafone. It isn’t a jaw dropping plan with cheap pricing and kickass features bundled with the best device on the planet. So don’t worry about being conned into something. Having said that, DO REMEMBER You are getting into a contract for TWO years (24 months or 720 days) with Vodafone.

In their FAQs section there are a few caveats listed –

1. “Once activated, the plan cannot be changed for the next 24 months.”
2. EMI transactions (12 & 24 month tenure) are available on following banks/ issuers: American Express | Axis Bank | Citibank | HDFC Bank | ICICI Bank | IndusInd Bank | Kotak Credit Card | RBL Bank | Standard Chartered Bank.

Overall:

Unless you are a die hard phan of Vodafone and Apple (one who has the logo of the fruit company tattooed on one bicep and that of the telco on the other, or plan to get those done soon) don’t go crazy about these. Go for it in a calm and collected manner and think before you sign up for this. You could probably get the device independent of this EMI scheme with a good deal at your bank itself.

“Tread with Caution!”