Author: emmac137276

Apple to launch three iPhones in 2019 with optic & haptic upgrades: Report

American technology giant Apple Inc is working on the next iteration of its iPhone smartphones, which are expected to be unveiled sometime in September this year. Speculated to be named iPhone 11, the upcoming series of smartphones could have at least three different models – according to technology news portal 9to5mac.

Codenamed the N104, D42 and D43, the upcoming iPhones are reported to be successor to the iPhone XR, iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, respectively. The N104, which is expected to be the most affordable iPhone in the upcoming series, is said to feature an LCD screen of the same screen resolution as predecessor iPhone XR. The D42 and D43 would be successors to the premium iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, respectively, and they are reported to boast OLED screens of the same resolution as their predecessors.

Though the design of smartphones in the iPhone 11 series is reported to be identical to their predecessors, they are touted to come with improved camera modules and enhanced hardware with new ‘Taptic Engine’ support. Speaking of camera, the D42 and D43 are expected to sport triple camera set-ups on the back. The N104, on the other hand, is rumoured to get dual cameras on its rear. Read Complete Article

How inflation played spoilsport in box office record of ‘Avengers: Endgame’

Marvel’s gambit to propel “Avengers: Endgame” to become the top-grossing movie of all time finally paid off. The studio re-released the final film in its “Avengers” series earlier this month with extra footage and a post-credit tribute in an effort to pass James Cameron’s 2009 film “Avatar” as the world box office record holder.

As of July 21, “Avengers: Endgame” had collected US$2.79 billion in worldwide ticket sales, edging out “Avatar” by around $500,000.

Marketing and bombast aside, however, the reality is “Endgame” isn’t even close to the real record-holder – nor is, for that matter, “Avatar.” The reason why gives me an excuse to offer a short lesson on inflation.

Why adjust for inflation

Prices from year to year cannot be directly compared with one another because the cost to buy things changes dramatically over time.

For example, in nominal terms, it costs more today to buy movie tickets, popcorn and soda and get to the theater than it did in the past, while it costs much less to call your friends and invite them to come along.

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Disney India goes all out to serve ‘The Lion King’ with local flavours

After tasting success with its localisation strategy for The Jungle Book in the summer of 2016, Disney India has gone all out to market the latest live-action flick The Lion King.

With a sharp focus on localisation beyond Hindi, and ramped-up investments for the India release, the film expects to attract more footfalls and set the cash registers ringing in the post-World Cup weekend. The efforts are paying off, given the movie has collected Rs 11 crore (net after tax) on the first day, setting it up for a good run at the box office.

“The Lion King is high on nostalgia for most of us, and that has translated to robust advance sales. The film has started strong and is set for a very healthy weekend. Simba won’t have to wait to be king of the Box Office this weekend,” says Kamal Gianchandani, CEO, PVR Pictures, and chief of Business Planning and Strategy.

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Mi 5th anniversary sale: Discount on Xiaomi phones, TVs and other products

Chinese technology company Xiaomi is hosting a sale to celebrate the fifth year of doing business in India. Dubbed the Mi fifth anniversary sale, the three-day discount festival started on July 23 at 12 am and will continue until 11:59 PM on July 25. The sale is currently active on the Mi online store, partner e-commerce platforms and offline stores, including Mi Homes and Mi Stores. As part of the sale, the company is providing discountsand other offers on several products, including smartphones, televisions and ecosystem products. Here is a look at the best offers:

Smartphones

Redmi 7: The company’s budget offering is available with a discount of Rs 2,500 on 2GB RAM and 32GB internal storage variant. This brings down the phone’s effective cost to Rs 7,499.Redmi Note 7S: The most affordable smartphone with a 48-megapixel camera is getting a discount of Rs 2,000. It is now available at Rs 9,999 and Rs 11,999 for 3GB RAM/32GB storage and 4GB RAM/64GB storage variants, respectively.

Redmi Y3: This selfie-centric smartphone is available at a discount of Rs 3,000. The 3GB/32GB and 4GB/64GB variants are being sold for Rs 8,999 and Rs 10,999, respectively.

Oppo K3 sale on Amazon India starts at 12 noon: Price, launch offers, specs

Chinese electronics maker BKK Electronics’ smartphone brand Oppo recently launched the Oppo K3 in India. The smartphone goes on sale today (July 23), exclusively on e-commerce platform Amazon India

. The phone boasts an elevating selfie camera, AMOLED screen, in-display fingerprint sensor, VOOC 3.0 fast-charging technology and Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 system-on-chip. It comes in two RAM and storage configurations — 6GB/64GB and 8GB/128GB — priced at Rs 16,990 and Rs 19,990, respectively.

As part of an introductory scheme, Amazon is offering a Rs 1,000 instant cashback in the form of Amazon Pay balance on both RAM and storage variants. The cashback brings down the phone’s effective cost to Rs 15,990 and Rs 18,990 for 6GB/64GB and 8GB/128GB variants, respectively. The phone also gets an instant discount of up to Rs 1,000 on Axis Bank debit and credit card transactions. Additionally, both the variants come bundled with additional benefits worth Rs 7,050 from Jio, discounts worth Rs 12,000 on OYO and gift vouchers worth Rs 5,000 from Lenskart. The phone is also eligible for no-cost equated monthly instalments (EMIs) of three and six months.

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‘Avengers: Endgame’ displaces ‘Avatar’ to become highest-grossing film

Avengers: Endgame, the concluding chapter in a Marvel superhero saga from Walt Disney, toppled James Cameron’s Avatar to become the highest-grossing film of all time.

Disney rereleased the film with new footage in late June for a final push as Endgame closed in on the record. It has now taken in an estimated $2.790.2 billion in theaters worldwide as of Sunday, the company said, ahead of the $2,789.7 billion accumulated by Avatar a decade ago.

Grabbing the No. 1 spot caps an extraordinary run for Marvel and Avengers in particular. The four pictures in the superhero mash-up averaged $652.5 million in domestic ticket sales, and the 23 films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, dating back to Iron Man in 2008, rank as the top-grossing movie franchise.

The Marvel characters have continued their run of successes this summer with Sony’s Spider-Man: Far From Home dominating theaters now. As of July 14, the film had taken in $847 million in worldwide ticket sales.

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TikTok parent ByteDance plans to set up international data centre in India

China-based ByteDance, the parent company of popular short video application TikTok, will set up a data centre in India, becoming one of the first social media companies to do so in the country, the company said in a statement shared exclusively with Business Standard.

“India is one of our strongest markets and we are happy to be part of the mainframe of Digital India in 15 languages. Since the launch of our platforms in India, we have stored the data of our Indian users at industry-leading third party data centres in the US and Singapore…We now believe the time has come to take the next big leap,” the statement read.

The company has set an internal target of 6-18 months to set up the data centre, Business Standard has learnt. The plan is part of the $1 billion ByteDance has recently committed to the Indian market over the next three years.

The move is also significant because of the Indian government’s ongoing focus on data localisation, as well as the increasing number of issues that TikTok is facing in the country.

ICC inducts Sachin Tendulkar, Allan Donald in its Hall of Fame list

Indian batting icon Sachin Tendulkarhas been inducted into the International Cricket Council’s Hall of Fame alongside South African pace legend Allan Donald. Joining Tendulkar and Donald in the Hall of Fame was two-time World Cup-winning Australian woman cricketer Cathryn Fitzpatrick.

“It’s a huge honour for me,” Tendulkar said at the induction ceremony held here on Sunday night. The 46-year-old former right-hand batsman is regarded the greatest to have played the game along with Sir Donald Bradman and remains the top run-accumulator in both Tests and ODIs.

He has 34,357 runs across formats and is the only batsman to have 100 internationals hundreds under his belt. The 52-year-old Donald is one of the finest bowlers to have played the game and had 330 Test and 272 ODI wickets to his credit before calling it quits in 2003.

Fitzpatrick is the second highest wicket-taker of all time in women’s cricket with 180 ODI scalps and 60 in Tests. As a coach, she guided the Australian women’s team to three World Cup titles.

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