VARINDIA IT MAGAZINE

According to recent reports, Google has partnered with Indian phone manufacturers, namely Micromax, Intex, and Karbonn, to launch entry-level smartphones, powered by the lightweight version of Android Oreo – Go edition. Micromax possibly will be the first to launch it at around the time of Republic Day at an approximate price of Rs.2,000. Others are also expected to launch the devices in the following weeks. Commenting on this, an official from Google stated, “We expect Android Oreo (Go edition) devices to launch in early 2018.” The official further added, “As more users come online for the first time, the number of entry-level Android devices available has been rising quickly, and is expected to make up a much larger percentage of all smartphone sales, going forward. Given the acceleration, we thought it is time to take our investment to the next level.” Read More

Salil Parekh has been positioned as Managing Director and Chief Executive of Infosys. He is looking forward to lead the company at a moment when technology is changing at a faster pace. Parekh has come on board for a tenure of five years. For him, the top priorities would be bringing back focus on revenue growth and business strategy. In a video message to his employees, he said each worker has a role to play in this "world of continuous technology disruption" and that they will have to be ready for the future, geared with necessary skills.... Read More

With WhatsApp passing its end-of-life date of December 31, 2017, it is very soon ending its support for BlackBerry OS, BlackBerry 10 OS, and Windows Phone 8.0 (and older) operating system. However, BlackBerry 10 users will get a ‘grace period’ as stated in a reprieve that they have received from WhatsApp. WhatsApp said in a support note, "These platforms don't offer the kind of capabilities we need to expand our app's features in the future. If you use one of these affected mobile devices, we recommend upgrading to a newer OS version, or to a newer Android running OS 4.0+, iPhone running iOS 7+, or Windows Phone 8.1+ so that you can continue using WhatsApp." It was first announced that WhatsApp support for BlackBerry OS, BlackBerry 10 and Windows Phone 8.0 will end in 2016. This was later extended to December 31, 2017. Support for Nokia Symbian S60 platform ended on June 30, 2017. WhatsApp would also end support for Nokia S40 after December 31, 2018 an

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recently launched BHIM app, a digital payments solution app based on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has become a success and attracted 145 million UPI transactions in December 2017, according to NPCI. Talking about the app, BHIM is based on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). If a user has signed up for UPI based payments on their respective bank account, which is also linked to his/ her mobile number, then he/ she will be able to use the BHIM app to conduct digital transactions.  According to the report, since its launch the transactions are increasing rapidly as more e-commerce players and banks are rolling out their UPI interface.... Read More