Huawei Mate 10, Mate 10 Pro With FullView Displays, MobileAI Launched: Price, Specifications

Highlights

• Huawei has launched two new flagship smartphones
• Alongside, it also launched a Porsche Design Huawei Mate 10
• All three feature FullView displays

Huawei chief executive officer Richard Yu unveiled the company's new flagship smartphones - Huawei Mate 10 and Huawei Mate 10 Pro - as he drew comparison with Apple's iPhone X and iPhone 8 Plus. The Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro feature near-bezel less displays and offer several functionalities that are better than the $999 iPhone X and pretty much everything else on the market, he claimed. Alongside, the Porsche Design Huawei Mate 10 was also unveiled, which in terms of specifications is identical to the Mate 10 Pro.
The Huawei Mate 10 Pro is priced at EUR 699 (roughly Rs. 53,400), and will go on sale from November in Australia, China, Egypt, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, and the UAE as the first wave of launch markets. The Huawei Mate 10 Pro is priced at EUR 799 (roughly Rs. 61,000), and will be made available in the above listed countries from November as well, with some regions in Europe and Africa in addition. As for the Porsche Design Huawei Mate 10, the smartphone has been priced at EUR 1,395 (roughly Rs. 1,06,600), with similar launch markets as the Mate 10 Pro.
The Huawei Mate 10 (seen below) sports a 5.9-inch QHD (1440x2560 pixels) LCD display, while the Huawei Mate 10 Pro offers a 6-inch full-HD+ (1080x2160 pixels) OLED display. Both are called FullView displays, and are meant to improves video consumption experience. Both the phones are a slightly smaller than their predecessors as the companies strips bezels, Yu said. Apple managed to achieve a 81.36 percent screen to body ratio with the iPhone X, but Huawei Mate 10 (with 81.79 percent) and Huawei Mate 10 Pro (with 81.61 percent) beat that.
Both the Huawei Mate 10 and the Mate 10 Pro are powered by Huawei's homegrown HiSilicon Kirin 970 SoC, which the company claims is the first smartphone mobile SoC chipset to feature neural-network processor unit (NPU) - though Apple may disagree, with its A11 Bionic featuring its own dual-core 'neural engine'. The chipset will support several AI features such as taking better selfies, Bokeh effect in images and recognising what an object is, in a more efficient manner, Yu said. It's the most advanced chipset in a smartphone, he added. Huawei calls the entire implementation as Huawei MobileAI.
The HiSilicon Kirin 970 SoC is so powerful, Yu said, you can simply connect the device to a monitor and turn it into a PC without using a dock. Once done, the phone can also serve as a mouse, a company executive demonstrated onstage at a media event in Munich, Germany. It features four Cortex-A73 cores clocked at 2.36GHz, four Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 1.8GHz, and an i7 co-processor, apart from the Mali-G72 Mp12 GPU and NPU.
Both Huawei Mate 10 and Huawei Mate 10 Pro house a 4000mAh battery, while still maintaining a slimmer body that the iPhone X. The Huawei Mate 10 comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage, while the Huawei Mate 10 Pro comes in two variants: 4GB of RAM and 64GB internal storage, and the other one with 6GB of RAM and 128GB internal storage. Internal storage on Huawei Mate 10 can be expanded using a microSD card (up to 256GB), but the Mate 10 Pro has no such expansion.
The Mate 10 Pro has a duo of rear cameras: 20-megapixel monochrome sensor and 12-megapixel RGB sensor, coupled with OIS, BSI CMOS, PDAF, CAF, Laser Autofocus, and Depth Autofocus, apart from dual-LED flash. On the front, there is an 8-megapixel fixed focus shooter. The Huawei Mate 10 comes with the same set of cameras as its bigger sibling the Mate 10 Pro. Even as Apple didn't deem the fingerprint scanner worthy of including in the iPhone X, both the Huawei's smartphones come with a fingerprint scanners on the back.
The Huawei Mate 10 and Huawei Mate 10 Pro run EMUI 8.0, based on Android 8.0. The dual-SIM capable smartphone also supports NFC. The Huawei Mate 10 comes with a 3.5mm headphone jack. The Mate 10 Pro doesn't have a headphone jack.
The company also announced the Porsche Design Huawei Mate 10 (seen above), a special variant of the Huawei Mate 10 Pro. It comes in Diamond Black colour. It will only be available in 6GB RAM, 256GB storage variants, and like the Mate 10 Pro, has no expansion.

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BSNL to Give 50 Percent Cashback on Talk Time Vouchers With 'Dussehra Vijay' Offer

Highlights

• BSNL talk time cashback offer will be applicable on select recharges
• It will be available on recharges made till October 25
• There is a full talk time offer on recharges made via its app or website

 

BSNL is offering cashback of 50 percent this Dussehra on voice recharges as part of a new promotional offer. Apart from this, there will be a full talk time offer on recharge transactions carried via the state-owned telecom operator’s mobile app or website for a limited period. Both offers will be applicable for BSNL users across India and will go live on September 25.
As part of the BSNL offer, customers who buy recharge packs between September 25 and October 25 will get 50 percent cashback for the recharge value. The offer is applicable on talk time recharges of Rs. 42, Rs. 44, Rs. 65, Rs. 69, Rs. 88, and Rs. 122, the company said in a statement. The full talk time offer would be applicable on recharges of Rs. 30 only, and the offer will start on September 25 and last till October 2.

R.K. Mittal, Director (CM) BSNL Board said, “We always come up with extra benefits on festive occasion. On this occasion we are offering up to 50 percent more talk value along with many FTT offers for all our prepaid mobile customers.”
This is the latest in a series of BSNL offers released over the past few months. A promotional offer launched earlier this month reduced the tariff for on-net calls to 15p per minute and off-net calls to 35p per minute for 30 days with recharge pack of Rs. 8. Users could get the same call tariff for 90 days with recharge of Rs. 15. For data consumers, the company also has a recharge plan with up to 90GB of data (1GB per day for 90 days) priced at Rs. 429.
BSNL is planning to roll out 4G VoLTE services on pan-India basis, and has asked the government for approval to use 700MHz band for 4G and 5G services. The company has also held discussions with Nokia over 5G field trials.
  
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Amazon Acquires 5 Percent Stake in Indian Fashion Retailer Shoppers Stop

Highlights

• Amazon's investment arm is eyeing the brick and mortar market of India
• Amazon's investment arm has acquired 5 percent stake in Shoppers Stop
• Shoppers Stop has 80 retail stores in India. It owns HyperCity as well

Amazon's investment arm has acquired a 5 percent stake in Mumbai-headquartered fashion retailer Shoppers Stop, the e-commerce giant confirmed on Saturday, as it expands its presence in India and eyes the bricks and mortar market.
Shoppers Stop said on Saturday said that its board of directors has approved an arrangement with Amazon.com NV Investments Holdings LLC, as part of which the fashion retail company will raise Rs. 179.26 crore ($27.6 million) from Amazon.com's subsidiary and issue a five percent equity share to the e-commerce giant's subsidiary in exchange. The board, Shoppers Stop said in a filing on Indian stock exchange BSE, has also proposed to hold an extraordinary general meeting of the company on October 18, 2017 to seek approval of the shareholders. Amazon.com NV Investment Holdings LLC is a limited liability company incorporated in the US, and registered as category III Foreign Portfolio Investor with SEBI in India. 
Amazon confirmed to Gadgets 360 that its investment arm has proposed to make the investment in Shoppers Stop, with a spokesperson adding that the company believes the fashion retail market in the country is "under penetrated and highly unorganised. We see a big potential in Shoppers Stop to disrupt this segment and want to be part of their growth story."
It's the first time Amazon has invested in an offline fashion retail in India. The move comes on the heels of rival Flipkart raising a war chest from Japan's SoftBank. Flipkart owns fashion e-commerce companies Myntra and Jabong.
Last week, Shoppers Stop said it had entered into an exclusive partnership with Amazon Seller Services, as part of which it would have a flagship store on the Amazon marketplace. The company said it will be selling its entire portfolio of over 400 products across apparel, footwear, and other categories on Amazon.in website. The move came two years after Shoppers Stop had entered into a similar agreement with Snapdeal.com.
Shoppers Stop has 80 retail stores across the country. The company has an online store of its own, but it is struggling to make a dent in the online space. Shoppers Stop also owns HyperCity grocery chain and CrossWord Bookstores. As of earlier this month, there were 19 HyperCity stores in India.

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BSNL to Roll Out 4G Services in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh by March 2018

HIGHLIGHTS

• A total of 1,150 4G sites will be installed in both the states
• 4G services will be launched by March 2018
• BSNL earned Rs. 2,500 crore revenue for AP and Telangana during 2016-17
  
• Public sector telecom operator BSNL will rollout 4G services in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh by March 2018, a senior official said on Friday.
  The tender formalities are complete and a total of 1,150 4G sites will be installed in both the states and the 4G services will be launched by March 2018, BSNL Telangana Circle Chief General Manager L Anantharam told reporters here.
  "For 4G project, tendering process has been completed and we have to receive guidelines from BSNL headquarters. The vendor has also been finalised. For BSNL 4G project, 10,000 4G sites have been planned pan India while for Telangana we are getting 550 sites and 600 in Andhra Pradesh...hopefully before this financial year end we will launch 4G services in both the states," General Manager P Sudhakara Rao said.
  The combined AP Circle (covering Andhra Pradesh and Telangana) has achieved highest number of SIM activations in South Zone in the Q1 of current financial year with 4,27,209, Anantharam added.
  Senior officials said BSNL earned Rs 2,500 crore revenue for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana during 2016-17, and hoped of maintaining the momentum this fiscal.
  Anantharam further said BSNL Telangana circle has commissioned Wi-Fi services under "BSNL 4G PLUS" in many important locations/public places in the state. "As of now in 63 locations Wi-Fi services are commissioned under Phase-I, including 11 rural exchanges and 58 more locations are expected to be launched by August 2017," he said, adding, further in Phase II, 130 more sites are planned.
  Anantharam said BSNL has started re-verification process of existing customers through e-KYC. With this process mobile number will be linked to Aadhaar number. It is mandatory for all existing customers to undergo re-verification for linking mobile number with Aadhaar number.
  As per Supreme Court guidelines the linking is to be completed by February 6, 2018, he said. Earlier, Anantharam announced official launch of new website of BSNL Telangana Telecom Circle www.telangana.bsnl.co.in and he also launched new prepaid plan PRATIBHA meant for rank students of EAMCET, NEET, JEE in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
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Motorola Pulse M Over-the-Ear Wired Headphones Launched at Rs. 2,999

HIGHLIGHTS

• Motorola Pulse M headphones come with premium design in two colours
• They come with an in-line remote control
• The headphones are priced at Rs. 2,999 in India
  
• Shyam Telecom, the licensee of Motorola Companion Products in India, has launched the Motorola Pulse M over-the-ear headphones. The Motorola Pulse M headphones are targeted at premium consumers at a price of Rs. 2,999. Featuring an in-line remote, the headphones come in two colour combinations - White & Gold, Black & Silver - with a metal finish design throughout. Motorola Pulse M headphones will retail at all e-commerce websites and other major outlets.
  The Motorola Pulse M headphones feature a softly padded headband with over-ear cups that cushion around the ears. For input, there's a 1.2-metre long 3.5mm detachable audio cable that the company claims is suited "for easy travel and avoid any normal wear & tear." As we said, the headphones come with an in-line remote that can be used for hands-free calling and controlling volume, playback of music. The company is also touting the passive noise cancellation provided by the full-size over-the-ear cups. The Motorola Pulse M headphones feature 40mm drivers that isolate music to render 'studio performance'. It has a sound sensitivity of up to 96 decibels.
  Commenting on the launch of Motorola Pulse M, Shyam Telecom said in a release, "We are happy to launch the Motorola signature headphone - Motorola Pulse M for discerning users looking for balanced audio experience. This limited edition is designed by Motorola in US with unmatched clarity of sound, letting you enjoy the deepest hitting drums without sacrificing even a hint of sound quality."
  Recently, Shyam Telecom made its Motorola Verve Loop Sports Bluetooth in-ear headphonesavailable in the Indian markets at Rs. 2,499. The Motorola Verve Loop Sports Bluetooth headphones are IP54 rating water-resistant and powered by a lithium-ion battery, which delivers up to 6 hours on a single charge.
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AlphaBay Dark Web Marketplace Shutdown by US Justice Department

The Justice Department announced Thursday that it had shuttered an illicit Internet marketplace for drugs, firearms and fake documents in what Attorney General Jeff Sessions said was the "largest dark Web takedown in world history."

AlphaBay was a site on the dark web where users whose identities were masked could engage in substantial buying and selling of illicit goods.

The Justice Department said that one AlphaBay staff member claimed that it serviced more than 200,000 users and 40,000 vendors, and around the time of the takedown, there were more than 250,000 listings for illegal drugs and toxic chemicals, and more than 100,000 listings for stolen and fraudulent identification documents and access devices, counterfeit goods, malware and other computer hacking tools, firearms and fraudulent services.

"This is likely one of the most important criminal investigations of this entire year," Sessions said.

In addition to seizing AlphaBay's infrastructure, prosecutors charged AlphaBay's founder, Alexandre Cazes, with crimes including conspiracy to engage in racketeering and conspiracy to distribute narcotics. Cazes, 26, a Canadian citizen who had resided in Thailand, apparently killed himself while in custody in Thailand this month, the Justice Department said, and prosecutors have moved to seize his and his wife's assets throughout the world.

While the marketplace might have been little known outside of the shadowy world of the dark web, officials said it produced real world consequences. Sessions said investigators had found instances in which drugs purchased on AlphaBay were used in overdose deaths. In one instance, Sessions said, a 13-year-old boy died after overdosing on a synthetic opioid a junior high school classmate had purchased on AlphaBay. He said investigators found 122 vendors on the site advertising fentanyl, and 238 advertising heroin.

"It's called dark not just because these sites are intentionally hidden," Sessions said. "It's also dark because of what's sold on many of them."

In 2013, federal authorities shut down a similar online drug marketplace called Silk Road. Its founder, Ross Ulbricht, was sentenced to life in prison in 2015. Acting FBI director Andrew McCabe said AlphaBay was roughly 10 times the size of that marketplace.

US authorities said they worked with law enforcement in several other countries - including Thailand, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Canada, the United Kingdom and France - to bring down AlphaBay. Their efforts, they said, coincided with Dutch authorities shuttering another illicit online market, known as Hansa Market.

While authorities stressed that the takedown was significant, they also acknowledged that other illicit online marketplaces would crop up or move in to take its place. US officials said they are aware of and investigating hundreds of services for secret online transactions of drugs and illicit goods.

Like AlphaBay, the services operate on the dark web - a collection of websites only accessible using specific services to help hide users' identities.

AlphaBay operated on what is known as the Tor network, in which data accessed through a browser is passed through multiple relays, masking a user's IP address. Transactions were conducted using digital currency, and the marketplace took a cut of the proceeds when the deals were completed.

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Truecaller for Android Gets Spam Folder, New Themes, and More With Latest Update

HIGHLIGHTS

• The update is already available for download on Google Play
• The update brings along an option of auto-renewal for Pro version
• Earlier monthly subscription rate was Rs. 60
  
• Truecaller is now rolling out version 8.21 of its Android app, and the update brings along a host of changes to the application. If you often get annoyed with spam messages, the new update will bring you a relief as it brings a Spam Folder that keeps all the junk SMSes away - it will have to be assigned as your default SMS app however. Apart from this folder, the Truecaller for Android update adds new themes and an option to save MMS as well to the app.
  The Truecaller for Android update is already available for download through Google Play and as mentioned earlier, it will bring a separate tab to the app that keeps the spam messages apart from the regular messages in Truecaller app. Moving on to the themes bit, the version 8.21 brings along new themes including Pitch Black. The latest Truecaller update for Android adds an option to save MMS and an option to block from incoming Flash messages.
  Interestingly, the Pro version of the app that removes ads now costs Rs. 30 instead of Rs. 60. Additionally, the company is offering an yearly subscription to the Pro version at Rs. 270. Notably, the app now provides auto-renewal option that will save you from the trouble of having to renew it manually.
  As Truecaller is an app that almost everybody has to use, this option for removing ads with annual subscription at an affordable price might lure more users to take up the Pro version of the app.
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YouTube Video Editor, Photos Slideshows to Be Discontinued on September 20

HIGHLIGHTS

• You'll have to download unpublished projects, or risk losing them
• Limited usage is cited as the reason for discontinuation
• The company is suggesting free, paid third-party editors
  
• YouTube on Thursday announced that its Video Editor and Photo slideshows tools are being retired on September 20. Not all editing features are being removed however - creators will still be able to use the Enhancements like trimming, blurring, and filters. The company cites limited usage of the two features as the reason for the discontinuation.
  Making the announcement on a Google Product Forum page, Marissa, a community manager, said, "We've seen limited usage of these features, so we're retiring them to focus our efforts on building new tools and improving on other existing features."
  Those YouTube creators that still have projects in the Video Editor or Photo slideshow section will need to finalise them before September 20, or they will lose the projects. Those videos already published with Video Editor or Photos slideshows will be unaffected. Those that want to download their videos from the Video Editor will be able to do so in 720p resolution, or, they can use Google Takeout to get them in original quality.
  As we mentioned, not all editing is disappearing from the YouTube platform - a boon for amateur users or those that want to make minor adjustments without re-uploading an entire video again. Creators will be able to continue to utilise the Enhancements feature, which can be found in the Video Manager section. Enhancements allows for edits like trimming, blurring, and filters.
  Google is pointing to the innumerable free and paid third-party editing tools that creators can utilise in place of its Video Editor and Photos slideshow features. It is pointing to the Creator Community and Creator Hub for more information.
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BlackBerry Wins Right to Sell Secure Messaging Tools to US Government

BlackBerry said on Thursday it has won the right to sell tools for encrypting phone calls and text messages to the US federal government, garnering an endorsement from the National Security Agency for the products.

The company said it received the endorsement from the NSA's National Information Assurance Partnership, or NIAP, which reviews commercial technology products to see if they meet enhanced security standards for government use.

NIAP has also endorsed tools from BlackBerry rivals that outplayed BlackBerry in consumer smartphones, including Apple and Samsung Electronics.

The fear that eavesdroppers are listening in to government communications has risen sharply in recent years, with an unencrypted mobile phone call between a senior US State Department officer and the US ambassador to Ukraine intercepted and leaked online in early 2014.

The tools are based on technology from Secusmart, which BlackBerry acquired in 2014 after the German startup won a contract to lock down Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone in the wake of claims by a former US intelligence contractor that it was tapped by the NSA.

German prosecutors in 2015 dropped an inquiry into claims that Merkel's phone was bugged, saying they had not found enough evidence to continue the probe.

BlackBerry said its encrypted voice and text messaging products are used by government agencies in 20 countries in Europe, Latin America, southeast Asia and Africa.

Germany is its biggest government customer.

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Google Play Protect Now Reportedly Rolling Out to Android Devices

HIGHLIGHTS

• The Play Protect card in Google Play will also show up soon
• The feature can be found in security settings
• The feature was announced at Google I/O earlier this year
  
• At Google I/O 2017 earlier this year, the search giant announced its Google Play Protect feature that essentially notifies users when a particular app starts behaving abnormally or is considered unsafe. Google has now reportedly started rolling out this feature to Android devices running Google Mobile Services 11 or later.
  Engadget has been told by the California-based company that the Google Play Protect feature has started rolling out and allows users to see that their apps have been scanned to ensure that they are safe. You will be able to see this feature inside the Google section of the security settings. While the feature will itself notify you about the unsafe apps, you can at least check for its availability by heading to this section.
  How to check if you've received Google Play Protect? It should be listed under Settings -> Google on you Android device.
  However, the report adds that the Play Protect card in the Play Store app will take longer to show up for users as it started rolling out a little later. Notably, the Google Play Protect feature automatically scans the apps in the background and but users can also manually ask the feature to start looking for abnormal app behaviour.
  Considering that Android has long been plagued with security holes that have allowed malware to even get remote access to the devices, among other things, it is definitely a welcome move that Google has now taken matters in its own hands. This new security feature will inform users about the unsafe apps and will prevent them from installing malicious applications that can potentially compromise their security.

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Google Street View Finally Captures Missing Austria

HIGHLIGHTS

• Google Street View has begun mapping the streets of Austria
• Google showed off one of its cars in Vienna on Wednesday
• Started in 2010, Google's plans hit a roadblock after a temporary ban
  
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Google's Street View cars on Thursday started taking images in Austria, the only EU country along with Germany to remain largely absent from the popular online service showing 360-degree pictures of places around the world.

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• The project, launched in 2007, lets computer users view panoramic street scenes on Google Maps and take a virtual "walk" through cities.
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• The photos are processed in the United States, where details such as faces and registration plates are automatically blurred before being published on Google Maps.
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• Some countries have been reluctant to grant Google access because of worries linked to data collection.
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• In 2010, Google had begun to roll out its service in Austria and neighbouring Germany but was ordered to halt operations over alleged privacy breaches.
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• The company admitted that vehicles had accidentally recorded personal data from wireless networks.
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• Although Austria lifted its temporary ban a year later, Street View decided not return to the alpine nation -- until now.
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• The fresh start was timed to coincide with Street View's 10-year anniversary, Google said in a statement.
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• Cars equipped with special cameras will tour Vienna, Linz and Graz until November.
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• "The official launch of Street View in Austria is expected to happen in six to twelve months," Google Austria spokesman Wolfgang Fasching-Kapfenberger told AFP.
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• Under Austrian law, Street View cars will only be allowed to capture photos but not videos.
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• The service still has a very low penetration rate in Germany, which has some of Europe's strictest privacy laws due to the abuses under its Nazi and communist dictatorships.
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• As a special concession to privacy concerns, Germans can have their homes or businesses pixelated, as well as opt out of the service altogether.

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Reliance Jio Feature Phone Launch Likely at Reliance AGM Today, How to Watch Live

HIGHLIGHTS

• All eyes will be on Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani
• Lyf/ Jio 4G VoLTE feature phone is expected to be launch
• Reliance Jio has set an ambitious target in terms of mobile's sales
  
• The much-anticipated Reliance Jio/ Lyf 4G VoLTE feature phone launch is expected at today's Reliance Industries AGM, which kicks off at 11am in Mumbai. Chairman Mukesh Ambani will take stage to give his annual update on how the various companies of the group are faring, but all eyes will be on the latter part of the speech where Jio-centric announcements are likely to feature, with the affordable mobile firmly in focus.
  This comes roughly a year after the 2016 Reliance AGM, where Ambani announced the public launch of the Reliance Jio telecom network. The venture went on to transform how the telecom industry operates, something that may also be expected of the Lyf/ Jio 4G VoLTE feature phone considering its rumoured price tag as well as its rather long list of features. Mukesh Ambani's speech will be broadcast live on YouTube and other mediums

• Jio feature phone price and launch date

  The Jio feature phone price is among the biggest bones of contention as reports have pegged the price anywhere between Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,500. When the report of the Jio feature phone first trickled out, the price was said to be between Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 1,500 between two variants, though this later changed to Rs. 500 by a separate report. The latest report on the matter of the Jio feature phone price once again suggests a price tag between Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 1,500, noting that the final price is yet to be decided. The handset’s manufacturing cost is said to be $27-28 (roughly Rs. 1,800), and the consensus is that it will likely be subsidised by Jio in order to keep it within the reach of feature phone users, the company's target segment.
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• Jio feature phone specifications and plans

  The Jio feature phone might be a low-end, basic handset, but it will apparently have features that will help it stand toe-to-toe with smartphones. From video calling and Internet tethering to a custom software (KAI OS) & app marketplace (KaiOS Plus) and access to JioTV and JioCinema apps, the company is said to be stuffing everything in the device. In fact, the latest report says the handset will come with a cable that will allow users to connect it to TV to play content from the JioTV and JioCinema apps on their television. It is also said to have support for a digital voice assistant with support for Indian languages.
• As for the specifications, Jio feature phone reportedly comes with is a 2.4-inch colour display, 512MB RAM, 4GB of internal storage, up to 128GB microSD card support, dual SIM functionality (Nano SIM + Standard SIM), 2-megapixel rear camera, and VGA front camera. Reports also say users will get 2000mAh battery, FM radio, and Bluetooth 4.1 + LE with the handset. Jio plans, priced around Rs. 80-90, are also expected to be announced for the feature phone buyers.
  Alongside the feature phone, the Mukesh Ambani-backed company will reportedly launch a new low-cost plan for Jio users, priced around Rs. 80-90. This rumoured Jio plan will likely come with bundled data, SMSs, access to Jio apps etc.; all calls are free on the network. It is not yet clear whether the plan will be available only for buyers of the feature phone, or will also be extended to existing users accessing the network on a smartphone.
  The Jio feature phone is as big as, or maybe even bigger than, the telecom network that was launched a year ago. The 4G VoLTE network put a phone with Jio SIM in the hands of over 110 million people, and is claimed to have boosted India to the top of globally charts in terms of data consumption, with the bulk of it on the company’s network. But growth has been slowing down, and the Jio network had its slowest growth in user base since launch in April. With a low-cost Jio feature phone in the market, the company would be able to tap the millions of consumers who are yet to move to its mobile network because of the high costs associated with a smartphone.
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