It’s Monday morning and once again time to do our weekly wrap-up. If you were offline for any reason, this is a great way to catch up with all the tech buzz from last week.
Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has declared India as the world’s youngest startup nation. While re-confirming the Govt.’s vows and pledges for making a robust startup eco-system within India, the Minister said that with 4400 tech startups in India, we are just behind US and UK in terms of numbers.
Cyanogen Inc., the Android based mobile OS maker has reportedly fired 20% of its workforce for shifting focus on App development only. Here is what went wrong with Cyanogen.
In one of the most talked about mega-deals in the Internet space, Verizon has acquired Yahoo for $4.8 billion, which is approximately Rs 32,160 crore (with current USD-INR conversion of Rs 67.23)
The much talked about imaging retouching and sharing app Prisma is now officially available for download on Google Play. The app was earlier available for use during a limited beta period and we were fast enough to do the review of Prisma app, before its Android servers were taken offline.
The much anticipated Amazon Prime services have been finally launched in India. Right now, users can get free 60 day trial after which Amazon Prime would cost Rs 499 a year.
In one of the historical decisions made, Indian Railways will now provide insurance upto Rs 10 lakh for all passengers. At a cost of Rs 2 per trip, per passenger, this is probably world’s cheapest, mass-scale insurance policy.
Listening to the user feedback on Android Apps, Google has launched a new Delta algorithm named “bsdiff” for shrinking the amount of data the users have to download for updating their apps.
Gionee has launched M6 and M6 Plus in China with humongous battery power, which are successors to the Marathon M5 and M5 Plus which promise even better battery backup.
The mystery over the sale of Jabong is finally over. India’s 2nd biggest fashion and lifestyle portal, Jabong which hosts 1500+ international high street brands and over 1.5 lakh designer styles from 1000+ sellers has been Acquired by Myntra for $70 million or approximately Rs 470 crore.
Earlier last week, XDA Developers, a credible and hugely followed community of developers and testers claimed that the rumor is all false, and Google Hangouts will not be phased out, anytime soon.
Finally the much awaited Xiaomi laptop is here, and as expected it looks every similar to Apple MacBook range of notebook computers. In fact, this Windows 10 running is even named Mi Notebook Air which is very similar to the entry-level MacBook series, MacBook Air.
The first of the three Blackberry Android-based smartphones is the DTEK50, or codenamed Neon under development stage. The naming to us makes no sense, but it looks like the company is not going ahead with fancy names like the Bold, Priv, Storm and Passport.
Now that Apple can open its stores in India, Tim Cook has confirmed that the development is on track, despite the global slump in iPhone sales.
In a welcome yet epic move, public telecom operator, BSNL has decided to increase the FUP (Fair Usage Policy) speed to 1 Mbps from the crawling slow 512 Kbps across the country from 1 August 2016.
HSBC’s Global Report for 2016 forecasts both positive and negative news for job seekers in India. As per the report, ecommerce will act as a catalyst for creating massive jobs all over the country, but at the same time, it will destroy millions of traditional jobs as well.
Technology powered taxi apps Ola and Uber are now being opposed pan-India via strikes and protests. After strikes by auto and taxi operators in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Kochi, the hatred and fear has now spread to National Capital Delhi.
UIDAI, which administers Aadhaar Card protocols and it’s usage is holding some high level meetings with major handset manufacturers like Apple, Samsung, Microsoft and Google for linking all smartphones with Aadhaar Cards.
In a new development, users will be able to book an Uber ride from the Snapdeal app itself. The feature is available in the menu section of the app and can be located around other similar services like movie tickets, food ordering and bill payments etc.
Those who wish to try this JioLink preview offer would also get complimentary access to Jio’s premium app suite including JioOnDemand, JioPlay, JioMags, JioBeats, JioDrive, JioSecurity, JioMoney, JioChat, and more.
SEBI and RBI are holding talks to enable purchasing of mutual funds via e-wallets, and regulations regarding the same would be soon announced.
Many Chinese smartphone manufacturers are flocking to India to look for alternative markets and promising sales. TCL, a Chinese electronics manufacturer company, has set foot in the Indian market with a range of televisions and a smartphone as well.
Google Family Library allows you to choose what apps you want to share and what you want to keep to yourself. For example, specific games you might like to keep private but books and movies you would like to share with others in the family.
Road and Transport Ministry is now asking taxi hailing apps Ola and Uber to ditch their usage of GPS for calculating fares and instead use the old fashioned taxi meters for the same. Reportedly, using GPS for calculating fares is against Motor Vehicles Act.
Picking up bits from Amazon Prime Pantry in the US, Amazon India has launched Amazon Pantry in India, a pilot in select areas in Hyderabad.
And finally, do check out our frequently updated Indian Startup Funding & Investment chart that gives you details of over 1500 deals that have happened since January 2015
