Made-in-India short-video sharing platform, Chingari, has announced that it has crossed more than 30 million downloads.

The social app said in a statement it achieved the feat in a matter of three months, with content creators making a beeline to join it.

Chingari said it has also added AR (augmented reality) filters on its platform to give content creators more advanced front and rear camera tools to work with.

The “highest percentage” of Chingari users are in the 18-35 years category, it said.

In addition to English and Spanish, the Chingari content is available in Hindi, Bangla, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Punjabi, Malayalam, Tamil, Odia, and Telugu, the statement said.

Apart from India, the Chingari app is steadily increasing its user base in the UAE, the United States, Kuwait, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam, it added.

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Google Pay on Monday announced the rollout of tokenisation across its platform, enabling users with debit and credit cards to transact at NFC-enabled point-of-sale (POS) terminals and online merchants through its tap-to-pay feature. The feature is currently available for Axis and SBI card users on Visa payments network, and more banks, including Kotak are expected to follow soon.

Through tokenisation, Android smartphone users with Google Pay can use their debit or credit card to make payments through a secure digital token attached to their phone without having to physically share their credit or debit card details. The feature also works with online merchants through one-time password (OTP), without any redirects to 3D Secure sites.

To enable the tap and pay feature using the smartphone phone (Android), users will have to do a one-time set up by entering their card details and follow it by entering the OTP they get from the bank to add their card to the Google Pay app. After the registration, the feature can be used to make payments at NFC-enabled terminals.

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Chinese smartphone brand Realme is set to launch in India the Narzo 20 series smartphones. Last week, the company confirmed that the Narzo 20 series will feature three smartphones – Narzo 20, Narzo 20A and Narzo 20 Pro. The smartphones will launch through an online event, which the company will live stream on its social media accounts and YouTube channel at 12:30 pm. Alongside the Realme Narzo 20 series, the company will introduce its Realme UI 2.0 custom interface based on Android 11 operating system.

The Realme Narzo series is expected to cater to budget and midrange smartphones segment. The Narzo 20 Pro is expected to be the top-tier model, and the Narzo 20A would be a budget model. The Narzo 20 is expected to be a top-notch budget smartphone. Basis the naming schema, the Narzo 20 and Narzo 20A are expected to be the successor to the Narzo 10 and Narzo 10A, respectively.

As for the specifications, the Narzo 20 Pro is expected to feature a 6.5-inch fullHD+ screen of 90Hz refresh rate. It is expected to be powered by MediaTek Helio G95 system-on-chip, paired with up to 8GB RAM and 128GB internal storage.

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Asus is set to debut its range of commercial notebooks and desktops in India on September 21. The Taiwanese electronics maker is hosting a virtual event at 2 pm (IST) that will live stream on company’s social media accounts and YouTube channel where it will unveil the product line-up.

Currently, the Taiwanese company has a rich product portfolio in the consumer PC segment. It has Zenbook and Vivobook notebook series in premium and mid-tier consumer notebook segment, respectively. Moreover, the company has a dedicated gaming notebook series named ROG and TUF series.

The company also make desktops and all-in-one PCs but it has long been missing from commercial PC segment. With today’s launch, the company will finally have product lines ranging from entre-level consumer PCs to commercial notebooks.

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“India is the key focus country for Asus. In the consumer PC segment, we have already achieved top 3 positions in the Indian market. We want to introduce the same amount of consumer centricity for businesses in India by leveraging the experience to introduce a wide array of innovative, cutting-edge products tailored for enterprises and establish Asus as the best-in-class technology solution provider for enterprise customers,” Leon Yu, Regional Director, System Business Group, Asus India and South Asia said in a statement.

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A midrange smartphone from the stable of South Korean electronics maker Samsung, the Galaxy M51 is a completely ‘fresh’ device. Unlike other recently launched M series smartphones, which bring incremental upgrades over predecessors, the Galaxy M51 introduces several new features to the series, including the industry-first 7,000 mAh battery.

From super AMOLED screen of a fullHD+ resolution to a 64-megapixel quad-camera set-up on the back, and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G system-on-chip, the smartphone covers a wide spectrum of features and specifications that you look for in a midrange smartphone. But is it the one Samsung device that can match the likes of Chinese smartphones like the OnePlus Nord and Realme 7 Pro in the midrange segment? Let’s find out:Design

Like other Galaxy M series smartphones, the Galaxy M51 has a plastic body with a reflective glass-like cover on the back. The phone’s glossy back cover is susceptible to fingerprints and gets smudged easily — not something you want if you are not in the habit of using a back cover. Its front is dominated by its screen, protected under Gorilla Glass. The smartphone has a minimal design and it looks uniform from every angle. It, however, has few distractions — a rectangular black-coloured rear camera module and a punch-hole screen for on-display front camera.

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Common Services Centers (CSC) on Thursday launched a WhatsApp chatbot for people to access its digital literacy services and resources. Aimed to bridge the digital divide and spur rural entrepreneurship, the service provides access to information related to course modules of government flagship programmes like the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA) and the Digital Beti initiative in English, Hindi and seven other regional languages. To access the service, people need to send a “Namaste” at CSC Academy’s official WhatsApp account +91-9999189321. The Chatbot provides access to details and course modules of flagship programmes.

Through the ‘Digital Beti’ initiative, the government aims to train 5,000 rural entrepreneurs on digital literacy in over 3,000 villages across 10 Indian states. The PMGDisha initiative focuses on making at least 40 per cent rural households digitally literate.

ALSO READ: WhatsApp partners Cyber Peace Foundation to drive cyber safety awareness

“The Digital India Programme of the government focuses on digital inclusion and empowerment. PMGDISHA, an initiative of the Government to provide digital literacy to 6 crore rural citizens, is being implemented by CSCs across the country. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, training has been suspended across the country. The ability to deliver digital literacy modules through WhatsApp will help us in extension of the programme to those still unreached in rural as well as urban areas. The partnership will redefine the delivery model of education and skill related content, especially for rural India,” Dinesh Tyagi, CEO, CSC SPV said in a statement.

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GoPro has refreshed its Hero Black-series action camera line-up with the launch of Hero 9 Black. The action camera features a new imaging sensor capable of recording videos of up to 5K resolution. Besides, it can capture photos at 20-megapixel resolution, and boasts HyperSmooth 3.0 video stabilisation with in-camera horizon leveling, dual-display, and a big capacity battery. The camera has modular lens, and the Hero 9 Black is compatible with a newly announced Max Lens Mod accessory for Max HyperSmooth video stabilisation and Max SuperView ultra wide-angle photo and video.

Priced at Rs 49,500, the Hero 9 Black will be available in India from late October. Its media mod with removable foam windscreen and display mod will be available at Rs 8,400 and Rs 6,900, respecitively. There is a light mod too and it will be available at Rs 4,700.

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German audio brand Sennheiser on Thursday launched CX 400BT True Wireless earbuds for Rs 16,990 in India.

The CX 400BT True Wireless aims to deliver astonishing performance thanks to Sennheiser’s 7mm dynamic drivers which are also featured in the acclaimed MOMENTUM True Wireless 2 earphones that were introduced earlier this year.

“This product has been created for those leading a fast-paced life and who are always on the go in order to enhance their everyday audio experience with great sound quality and all-day comfort,” Kapil Gulati, Director, Consumer Segment, Sennheiser India, said in a statement.

With the Sennheiser Smart Control app it is also possible to tailor the sound experience to one’s personal preference via the built-in equalizer.

The earbuds come with customizable touch controls that let the user define their preferred way of controlling audio, calls or accessing voice assistants such as Google Assistant or Siri.

It features Bluetooth 5.1 for reliable connectivity and easy management of Bluetooth connections using the Smart Control app.

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The OPPO F17 Pro is one of the many smartphones that the Chinese smartphone maker OPPO recently launched in India. Priced at Rs 22,990 for its sole 8GB RAM and 128GB internal storage configuration, this midrange smartphone brings a motley mix of midrange and premium features — from a dual-camera set-up on the front to AMOLED screen, a lightweight design, and a big-capacity battery with fast-charge support. With these, the OPPO F17 Pro seems to be a balanced smartphone offering each user something they would like. But how does it fare as a complete product in everyday use? Let’s find out:OPPO F17 Pro: Design

The F17 Pro takes design cues from OPPO’s premium Reno4 Pro (review) smartphone. It is an ergonomically built smartphone with a compact form factor (7.48 mm thin) and lightweight design (164g) —great build overall. Though made of plastic, the phone seems sturdy and has a novel gradient design on its back cover. It is a two-tone gradient reflective cover that looks familiar but intriguing. Complementing the back cover design is an Apple iPhone 11 Pro-like square-shaped camera module on the back. Though it protrudes outwards from the chassis and makes the phone wobble on flat surfaces, it does not look odd.

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Google has introduced a new feature in its Meet app where the users can now see up to 49 people at the same time in the auto and tiled layout options.

In addition, the company has added the ability to see the host of the meeting as a tile on the call.

Both the features are now available to all G Suite customers and users with personal Google Accounts.

“Adding yourself as a full tile let’s you see yourself better. This can make you feel more like part of the larger group, especially when taking screenshots or photos,” Google said in a blog post on Tuesday.

With this launch, the Meet users will also be able to use a slider to adjust the number of tiles they see.

“You may want to increase the maximum when you have a large group, or reduce the number of tiles if you have a weak internet connection,” Google informed.

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