‘Every move you make

Every step you take

I’ll be watching you’

This part from the ‘Every breath you take’ by The Police aptly describe the Kogo, an artificial intelligence-powered travelogue bot that goes on a journey with you but returns with a neatly knit photo and video story of your journey, ready to go on social media.

The Kogo bot is a GPS-enabled device that uses AI to create a story for you. It has multiple sensors with which it precisely maps your journey. The device works in tandem with the KogoApp that keep all the information that the bot captures.

Geared towards bikers, solo and group travellers, etc. It is a tiny rectangular device, weighs about 500-600 gm, and has a strong magnet at the rear with which it sticks to your vehicle or any magnetic surface. It sticks to the surface so strongly that you would have to pull it hard to remove it from there. I used it on my bike and didn’t have to worry about the device falling anywhere. You can also keep in your bag or pocket.

Kogo is useful for those who hit the road often and needs to know about the routes, places they can stop, and other information. You can also see the movement of fellow travellers or other people through the Kogo app.

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The fifth-generation technology promises sufficient India-specific use cases along with viable and affordable business models, Trai Secretary said on Thursday while expressing hope that 5G will be introduced in the Indian market very soon.

On the issue of spectrum pricing, which has time and again been flagged by players as expensive, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) Secretary SK Gupta emphasised that the regulator has made all-out efforts to ensure that price of radiowaves is “reasonable and market-friendly”.

Gupta further asserted that global comparisons, in this regard, should be done only on equitable parameters taking, into account various variables and future prospects.

Speaking at the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2020, Gupta said Trai has already given its recommendation for the auction of spectrum in 3,300-3,600 MHz bands, which is under the telecom department’s consideration, and hoped that auctions would be conducted “soon”.

Identification of spectrum in millimeterWave band is important to roll out 5G services, he said, adding that Trai hoped to get the reference (from the DoT) on the matter.

“I feel 5G is a gamechanger, has sufficient India-specific use case, provides viable and affordable business models and I am very optimistic and hope that 5G will be introduced in Indian market very soon,” Gupta said.

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When Japan invented the world’s first camera-equipped mobile phone two decades ago, it signaled an early but crucial step in the transformation of the phone into a sophisticated high-speed wireless information terminal.

Two decades later, as the world develops 5G networks that are tens of thousands of times faster, the nation that pioneered many of these technologies has been almost entirely absent. Having lost the lead in consumer-facing handsets after missing the shift to smartphones, Japanese brands have also fallen behind Nokia Oyj, Ericsson AB and above all Huawei Technologies Co. in the buildout of 5G infrastructure.

Those three manufacturers control almost 80% of 5G base-station market share, according to research company TrendForce. But Japanese firms have been handed an unexpected lifeline by the U.S.-led crackdown on Huawei, the Chinese company that was at the forefront of the technology’s rollout. With U.S. partners seeking out suppliers from friendlier nations, vendors in close U.S. ally Japan suddenly seem a lot more attractive to carriers around the world racing to upgrade their networks.

“It’s given us a chance,” Jun Sawada, chief executive officer of Japan’s telecommunications behemoth Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp., also known as NTT, said of the U.S. steps to remove Huawei.

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When Japan invented the world’s first camera-equipped mobile phone two decades ago, it signaled an early but crucial step in the transformation of the phone into a sophisticated high-speed wireless information terminal.

Two decades later, as the world develops 5G networks that are tens of thousands of times faster, the nation that pioneered many of these technologies has been almost entirely absent. Having lost the lead in consumer-facing handsets after missing the shift to smartphones, Japanese brands have also fallen behind Nokia Oyj, Ericsson AB and above all Huawei Technologies Co. in the buildout of 5G infrastructure.

Those three manufacturers control almost 80% of 5G base-station market share, according to research company TrendForce. But Japanese firms have been handed an unexpected lifeline by the U.S.-led crackdown on Huawei, the Chinese company that was at the forefront of the technology’s rollout. With U.S. partners seeking out suppliers from friendlier nations, vendors in close U.S. ally Japan suddenly seem a lot more attractive to carriers around the world racing to upgrade their networks.

“It’s given us a chance,” Jun Sawada, chief executive officer of Japan’s telecommunications behemoth Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp., also known as NTT, said of the U.S. steps to remove Huawei.

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The Philips AC3059/65 is a smart air purifier with wireless internet connectivity for remote management through its smartphone app (Clean Home+) and digital voice assistants (Alexa and Siri). The technology-rich Philips AC3059/65 air purifier is said to clean the surrounding air of more than just the particulate matter. The company claims that it is effective against PM2.5, smoke, dust, pollen allergen, bacteria, and viruses. Does it stand true to all these promises? Let’s find out:

Design

The Philips AC3059/65 is part of the company’s New Urban Living Series Air Purifiers targetting customers among urban households. And its design seems to speak likewise. It has a cylindrical body with perforated holes on the lower side, a flat minimal design on the front, and air vent with grills at the top. It looks elegant and blends well with modern home interiors.

ALSO READ: Dyson Pure Hot + Cool Air Purifier Review

The design is complemented by its bold circular display at the top showing air pollution reading (indoor allergen index, PM2.5, and gas) in real time. Besides, the display is circled by icons and touch buttons for features that the air purifier supports. The icons include indicators for Wi-Fi, fan mode, filter change, and filter clean. The touch buttons are there to check filter life, switch the display reading, switch on/off air purifier, change the fan mode and enable/disable backlighting. The touch buttons and self-explanatory icons make the Philips AC3059/65 air purifier easy to use by non-smart homes, too.

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Sony has a history of making technology-rich televisions, and the legacy continues with the Bravia A8H OLED 4K Android smart television. Though not the company’s top-end offering, the Bravia A8H is a premium model in the Japanese electronics maker’s OLED smart TV portfolio in India. Except the 8K resolution and 120Hz refresh rate available on the LED-based Bravia Z8H series, the Bravia A8H does not lack any of the Sony’s premium technology and features. On paper, the Sony Bravia A8H OLED 4K Android TV seems to be a tech-rich smart TV worth your money. But is it? Let’s find out:

Design

The Bravia A8H OLED 4K Android TV is based on Sony’s ‘One Slate’ design concept. It seems carved from a single piece of metal, with vivid 65-inch OLED screen dominating the entire front profile and a plush design on the back. The TV has a thin waistline, but there is a small block-shaped protrusion on the rear side where most of its machinery is placed. Nonetheless, the protrusion is not an obstruction and the Bravia A8H looks uniform on all angles.

Though thin, the TV is heavy (21.8 kg) and requires installation to be done by professionals. It is not the kind of TV that you can move from one room to another without seeking professional installation service. And, it is best used with table-top installation, not wall mount. The TV comes with a flexible metal blade stand which lets you adjust its height to accommodate soundbar in front of the TV without obstructing the view.

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Nokia is likely to come up with its Purebook laptop models in India soon, according to a teaser on Flipkart. While there is no clarity over the launch date, reports say Nokia could launch it by December-end.

The teaser on Flipkart does not share the specifications and pricing of the Nokia Purebook but indicates that the laptop will be lightweight, powerful, and offer an immersive experience.

According to a reported Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) listing, there are nine models of the Nokia Purebook and it is likely that five are going to be powered by Intel Core i5 processors and four by the Core i3 processors.

The laptops are likely to be powered by Intel’s 10th-generation Comet Lake series of Core processors.

The Nokia PureBook is said to come with at least 8GB of RAM along with SSD storage. Nokia might even go for hybrid configurations for storage, comprising both SSD and HDD standards.

It is likely that the Nokia would look to compete with Mi, Asus and others in the mid-range segment.

Meanwhile, Nokia has started the production of next generation 5G equipment at its Chennai plant.

Nokia said it was the first to manufacture the 5G New Radio in India, and it is now producing Nokia AirScale massive Multiple Input Multiple Output (mMIMO) solution at the facility, which has attracted investments worth Rs 600 crore since 2018.

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NASA has named the 18 astronauts half of them women who will train for its Artemis moon-landing programme.

The first woman and next man on the moon will come from this elite group.

Vice President Mike Pence introduced the astronauts on Wednesday at the close of his final meeting as chairman of the National Space Council. The announcement was made at Florida’s Kennedy Space Centre, beneath one of only three remaining Saturn V moon rockets from the 1960s and 1970s Apollo programme.

My fellow Americans, I give you the heroes of the future who will carry us back to the moon and beyond, the Artemis generation, Pence told the small crowd, seated several feet apart from one another.

Five of the astronauts the only ones in attendance walked onto the stage, waving and wearing masks.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine stressed there would be more astronauts joining the group. NASA has 47 active astronauts.

The space agency is aiming for a moon landing by 2024, although the chances of that happening are growing increasingly dim. The upcoming change in administration also adds uncertainty.

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Google released its annual ‘Year in Search’ list today which shows the top trending topics people searched for in 2020. From ‘How to make dalgona coffee’ to TV anchor Arnab Goswami, netizens searched it all this year as they tried to make sense of things under intermittent lockdowns, uncertainties, and the fear amid Covid-19 pandemic.

While Kangana Ranaut, Rhea Chakraborty, among other were most searched personalities, Indian Premier League remained the most searched topic on google this year in the overall category.

Here’s what people searched on Google this year:

Overall and News Events

Among the major news events, the Indian Premier League, Coronavirus and US elections triggered noteworthy search activity, as users looked for latest updates and election results. Other important news events included the frequent Lockdowns, and the Locust swarm attack. International news events like the Beirut explosion and Bushfires in Australia also made it to the list.

As Covid-19 pandemic continued to hover throughout this year, trending search terms were dominated by the obvious concern around the global pandemic, with a surge in questions about Coronavirus.

While the excitement around the Indian Premier League made it the top trending query, the US elections triggered significant search activity along with Bihar elections and Delhi elections.

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As global smartwatch shipments increased 6 per cent in third quarter of 2020 compared to the same period last year, Apple remained the leader with 28 per cent share while Samsung took the third position, overtaking BBK (Imoo brand), a new report said on Wednesday.

The top five brands contributed more than 66 per cent of the total shipments in Q3 2020 while China surpassed North America to become the market leader after seven quarters, according to the ‘Global Smartwatch Model Tracker’ by Counterpoint Research.

Apple launched its first mid-tier smartwatch, the Apple Watch SE, during the quarter. Apple Watch SE (GPS) starts at Rs 29,900 while Apple Watch SE (GPS+ Cellular) begins from Rs 33,900 in India.

Huawei managed to maintain its second position with 15 per cent share, thanks to the good performance of its newly launched models, especially the ones for children.

With the successful launch of the Galaxy Watch 3, Samsung took the third position with 10 per cent market share.

“In terms of sales, Apple’s position is even stronger. In the third quarter, it achieved $2.3 billion, nearly half of global smartwatch shipments and an 18 per cent increase over the same period last year,” said senior analyst Sujeong Lim.

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