Microsoft on Thursday launched a dedicated programme to help healthtech startups flourish in India, as the pandemic impacts every aspect of the healthcare system in the country.

Microsoft informed that it has collaborated with startup incubator Social Alpha to accelerate the growth of participating startups.

“Technology innovation with advanced data and analytics capabilities is a critical enabler as we build trusted and reliable solutions at scale. The Microsoft for Healthtech Startups programme deepens our focus on specific industries and is aimed to accelerate the growth journeys of startups with the best tech enablement and business resources,” explained Sangeeta Bavi, Director-Startup Ecosystem, Microsoft India.

The programme aims to help entrepreneurs with technical support as well as resources for co-selling and co-building tech tools to achieve better outcomes across healthcare.

The Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare unlocks the power of Microsoft Azure, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Dynamics 365, and Microsoft Power Platform, and enables startups to access a portfolio of released and new healthcare capabilities tailored to the unique requirements of health data in the cloud, the company said.

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As Indians look for a seamless experience with their smartphones, a new study claimed on Wednesday that the degree of consumer satisfaction is the highest with OxygenOS from OnePlus (74 per cent) followed by Apple iOS (72 per cent).

According to the study titled ‘The State of SmartphoneOS Experience’ by CyberMedia Research (CMR), 55 per cent of the Indian smartphone users surveyed believe that Smartphone OS is key for the overall experience and delight.

Three in every five users are willing to shift to a different smartphone brand, driven by the operating system (OS) considerations.

The key issues they face are unwanted ads in the OS, pre-installed apps, apps running in background and other issues, such as lack of storage, overheating and battery drainage issues, among others.

“Consumers prefer the intelligent and nifty tweaks to the OS that enable seamless lag-free experiences, including optimisations aimed at digital wellbeing and optimisations to conserve battery and refine overall user experiences, including while gaming,” said Prabhu Ram, Head-Industry Intelligence Group (IIG), CMR.

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Boosting export-oriented local manufacturing of laptops and tablets can open up $100 billion opportunity for India by 2026, said a new report on Wednesday.

Currently, the global manufacturing hubs for laptops and tablets are limited to a handful of countries with China being the predominant supplier to the world with 66 per cent market share in 2019, worth $100 billion, said the joint report by industry body India Cellular & Electronics Association (ICEA) and global consultancy major EY.

“This presents an opportunity for India to ramp up the export of ‘Made in India’ laptops and tablets. By making in India for the world and obtain a sizable share of the global market will give us a manufacturing value of $100 billion by 2025,” ICEA Chairman Pankaj Mohindroo told reporters in a virtual conference.

“It will also create five lakh additional jobs and a cumulative inflow of foreign exchange to the tune of $75 billion; and investment of over $1 billion,” Mohindroo said.

In addition, the right policy interventions to boost laptop and tablet manufacturing in India would negate imports of targeted products from China leading to the reduced trade deficit and greater self-reliance, he said.

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Larsen & Toubro today said that its construction and mining equipment business has secured one of its biggest orders ever to supply 46 units of Komatsu mining equipment to Tata Steel.

The scope of work includes supply of equipment and full maintenance contract for 60,000 hours of equipment operation, the company said in its exchange filing.

The order comprises 41 units of Komatsu HD785-7 (100 ton dump truck), three units of Komatsu WA900-3E0 (9 cum wheel loader) and two units of Komatsu D275A-5R (410HP crawler dozer).

“Komatsu’s superior products and L&T’s seamless support over the years, paved the way for securing this prestigious order and we look forward to partnering India’s largest steel producer – Tata Steel, in their growth journey,” the release quoted S. N. Subrahmanyan, chief executive officer and managing director as saying.

About 26 of the 46 units would be deployed at Tata Steel’s iron ore mines in Joda, Noamundi and Khondbond in Odisha, while 20 units of Komatsu 100 ton dump trucks will be deployed at Tata Steel’s West Bokaro coal mines in Jharkhand.

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Oppo on Tuesday showcased the Oppo X 2021 rollable concept smartphone, OPPO CybeReal AR application, and Oppo AR Glass 2021 at its annual Inno Day 2020 event.

The ‘Leap into the Future’ themed virtual event was hosted to showcase company’s future tech. At the conference, Tony Chen, Oppo CEO, announced its ‘3+N+X’ technology development strategy aimed at imaging technology, hardware, software, artificial intelligence (AI), security and privacy etc.

“The ecosystem strategy will give rise to integrated scenarios that break the boundary between the digital and physical worlds, resulting in a duplicate, or rather “digital twin”, of the reality, where users will be able to interact with the digital world in a new way,” said Tony Chen at the virtual event.OPPO Inno Day 2020: Products information
OPPO AR Glass 2021

Taking a step towards augmented reality (AR), OPPO unveiled AR Glass 2021. According to OPPO, the AR Glass features centimeters accuracy through use of technologies such as its time-of-flight (ToF) camera, binocular fisheye cameras and spatial localisation calculations.

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E-commerce major Flipkart, the official brand licensee in India for Nokia’s smart televisions, recently launched its new range of smart TVs with integrated Onkyo audio system. The range includes Android-based smart LED TVs starting from Rs 12,999 (32-inch screen size with HD resolution) to Rs 59,999 (65-inch screen with UHD resolution). Flipkart is also offering the UHD resolution panel option along with regular fullHD panel in the 43-inch model. The other two models are 50-inch and 55-inch smart LED TVs with a UHD resolution.

The Nokia Smart TV 50-inch, priced at Rs 33,999, seems to best represent Flipkart’s new range of value-for-money products. Business Standard reviewed the Nokia Smart TV 50-inch model to test how it fares on key parameters like design, display, audio, performance and connectivity. Here are our key findings:Design

The Nokia Smart TV 50 is a modest-looking unit with minimal design language. It is neither thin nor bulky and looks similar to most smart TVs you get at this price. However, the TV’s thin display bezels accentuate the front profile, and the tall silver-painted legs for a table top installation add some zing to the otherwise regular design. The TV also supports wall mount installation, but that makes accessing ports difficult and also takes away the silver lining that its legs adds to the design.

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Oppo is hosting its annual Inno Day conference on Tuesday where the company is set to unveil its latest innovations in mobile technology. The event begins at 1:30 pm (IST) and it will livestream on company’s social media handles and YouTube.

Ahead of the Oppo Inno Day 2020, the Chinese electronics maker teased some of the devices that it will be showcasing today. Going by the teasers, Oppo is set to embark on foldable smartphone journey with a rollable screen.

Augmented reality glasses is another interesting concept device that Oppo teased on its Twitter handle. The event is also expected to bring Oppo’s first smartphone with 125W fast charging tech and under-display front camera tech.

Oppo is also expected to showcase innovation with regard to imaging. Earlier this year, the company had announced a new-breed of periscope lens zoom system, which is likely to get into Oppo smartphones next year. Therefore, the company might showcase it at the event.

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Struggling to keep its consumer business afloat in the wake of the US sanctions, Chinese conglomerate Huawei on Tuesday announced to sell off its Honor smartphone business assets to China-based Shenzhen Zhixin New Information Technology Co Ltd.

The company said that the sale — which could be around $15 billion according to multiple reports — will help Honor’s channel sellers and suppliers make it through this difficult time.

Honor smartphones have been hit by US sanctions that prevent Huawei from doing business with the US companies.

“Once the sale is complete, Huawei will not hold any shares or be involved in any business management or decision-making activities in the new Honor company,” the company said in a statement.

“Huawei’s consumer business has been under tremendous pressure as of late. This has been due to a persistent unavailability of technical elements needed for our mobile phone business,” it added.

Huawei said the move has been made by Honor’s industry chain to “ensure its own survival”.

Over 30 agents and dealers of the Honor brand first proposed this acquisition.

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From the Apple iPhone SE to the OnePlus Nord, this year has seen the return of some big names in the smartphone space to the business of making affordable smartphones. The next in line is global software giant Google, which recently launched the Pixel 4a in India. The Pixel 4a claims to bring some of the best features from Google at a reasonable price of Rs 31,999. But is it worth your money? Let’s find out:

Design

It is hard to find an Android smartphone, especially a midrange one, with good ergonomics and a compact form factor. Thankfully, the Google Pixel 4a has both. You will love the Pixel 4a’s in-hand feel, and it is surprisingly sturdy despite its polycarbonate build. Moreover, its lightweight design (143g) makes it comfortable to hold and operate, and it feels like air while resting inside the pocket.

Display

The Pixel 4a’s design is accentuated by the 5.8-inch OLED screen (fullHD resolution) with a punch-hole on the top-left corner to accommodate the front camera. The display stretches across the borders, leaving minimal bezels – something that previous Pixel smartphones could not pull off. The screen is bright, vivid and responsive. It has a good contrast and seems suitable for most content you consume on a smartphone screen.

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PUBG Corporation, the creator of Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) and subsidiary of South Korea’s Krafton, Inc, on Thursday announced that the company is planning to make investments worth $100 million in India. The company also said it would create an Indian subsidiary to enhance communications and services as it prepares for the comeback.

“The Indian company will hire over 100 employees specialising in business, e-sports, and game development. In addition to establishing a local office, the company will look to actively collaborate and leverage local businesses to strengthen its gaming service,” PUBG Corporation said in a statement.

PUBG Corporation said it would also launch PUBG Mobile India, a new game created specifically for the domestic market.

The company revealed plans to provide a secure and healthy gameplay environment alongside investments to cultivate local video game, e-sports, entertainment, and IT industries.

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