Samsung Galaxy S8 to come with a 6.2-inch bezel-less variant, say reports

Samsung is expected to launch its next generation flagship at its Unpacked 2017 event at theMobile World Congress 2017, according to recent reports. Turns out, there won’t just be one phone but multiple variants of the Galaxy S8. According to the latest report in The Investor, the Galaxy S8 is expected to come in a large screen form factor as well.

The upcoming flagship which will be released at MWC 2017, will come in two variants: a 5.7-inch one and a 6.2-inch one. The Galaxy S8 in the 6.2-inch form factor is expected to come with a bezel-less design, with over 90 percent screen to body ratio. This is to ensure that the dimensions of the S8 will not vary much from the S7 edge.

It is being speculated that the 6.2-inch variant has been added to appeal to the Note 7 customers, who could not get the device after it was globally recalled due to battery burning issues. This year Samsung had released the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge at 5.1-inch and 5.5-inch sizes respectively whereas the Note 7 was in the 5.7-inch form factor.

The report further states that the Galaxy S8 will ditch the planar design language and will see both the models in with a curved display, just like the Galaxy edge series.

As far as the device itself is concerned, the most prevalent rumours describe a phone with a Snapdragon 830 SoC, a 2K display, a dual-camera setup on the rear and a screen to body ratio of a whopping 90 percent. Another highlight is expected to be the debut of Samsung’s own AI assistant, a la Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant. This assistant is also rumoured to get a button all to itself on the S8.

Audi India introduces special festive offers on A3 and Q3 models

Audi may be a wee bit late but an offer is an offer, and right now it seems like a pretty good one for both existing and potential owners of the Audi vehicles. Audi India has introduced a new special offer on two of its most affordable models, the Audi A3 sedan and the Q3 SUV.As per the new offer the A3 sedan is now available for a down payment of Rs 4.99 lakh coupled with an interest rate that is set at 4.99 percent. The Audi Q3 on the other hand is now up for grabs with an all-inclusive down payment of Rs 5.99 lakh that comes at a 5.99 percent interest rate.

Getting into the details, both cars according to the package, also include an extended warranty of 3 years and a 1 year comprehensive Audi Assure insurance policy, which is pretty good.

Those looking to exchange can also avail an exchange bonus of Rs 1 lakh.

All the above mentioned offers are valid across Audi dealers in India but may vary depending on region and till stocks last.

Coming to the cars, the A3 sedan is currently priced at Rs 28.5 lakh and is available with a 1.8-litre petrol engine that delivers 180PS of power and 250Nm of torque and a 2.0-litre diesel burner which delivers 143PS of power and a monstrous 320Nm of torque. The Q3 SUV is currently only available in two diesel powered options, a 2.0-litre engine that is good for 140PS of power and 320Nm of torque or a tuned 177PS option with 380Nm of torque.

Audi recently launched next generation Audi A4 launched in India at Rs 38.10 lakh

Audi announces revamped versions of the A5 and S5 Cabriolet

 German car maker Audi announced the A5 and S5 coupes earlier this year and now it has announced the cabriolet convertible versions. These are pretty much similar to the coupes with the only difference being the retractable fabric roof. Audi claims with just the hit of a the roof can opened or closed. It take 15 seconds to open,18 seconds to close and it can be done at speeds up to 45kmph.

 For the European market, the A5 will come in five engine options which include three TDI diesel engines with the most powerful one being a 3-litre 286-horsepower motor as well as two TFSIpetrol

engines, with the most powerful producing 252 hp.These will come in a choice of transmissions including a six-speed manual, a seven-speed S-Tronic dual-clutch gearbox, and as an eight-speed automatic.

For other markets, including the US and probably India as well, the A5 will come in a 2-litre turbocharged four-cylinder version generating 252 hp and 273 lb-ft of torque. Expect an eight-speed automatic transmission and probably a manual six-speed version, which is not yet confirmed.

The S5 Cabriolet uses a new 3-litre turbocharged V6 engine that produces 354 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque. The new cabriolet hits 100 kmph in 5.1 seconds and has a top speed of 250kmph. As for the transmission, it features an eight-speed automatic and gets Quattro all-wheel drive standard.

The new versions go on sale in Europe next year in March. If Audi plans to get the new cars to India, then you will probably have to wait a bit longer.

Hyve Mobility launches Pryme with MediaTek Helio X20 and 4GB RAM for Rs 17,999

Domestic start-up Hyve Mobility in collaboration with MediaTek on Wednesday launched a new smartphone ‘Pryme’ at Rs 17,999. The device comes with a 5.7-inch display of Full HD resolution, protected by a 2.5D arc glass. The Pryme smartphone packs in a deca-core MediaTek Helio X20 processor clocked at 2.3GHz paired with 4GB RAM and 32GB internal storage (expandable). The handset supports 4G bands with dual-SIM slots along with VoLTE. It runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box.

Hyve has included essentials like Wi-Fi 802.11 ac. Bluetooth v4.1, GPS, IR blaster, FM Radio, 3.5mm headphone jack and USB Type-C in terms of connectivity options for the Pryme. It comes with fingerprint reader, six-axis gyroscope, ambient, proximity, compass and accelerometer sensors which seems to improve the feature set. In addition, the smartphone packs a 13MP camera module with a dual-tone LED flash on the back and an 8MP camera module on the front with a LED flash.

“Available at a competitive price point, the Android smartphone redefines the price-to-performance paradigm by packing in unique features and ace form factor,” said Abhishek Agarwal, CEO and Joint Managing Director, Hyve Mobility in a statement.

“MediaTek’s collaboration with Hyve is a benchmark for both organisations as we bring forward our best technologies to develop and deliver outstanding smartphone experience for the consumers,” Arthur Wang, Senior Director, Corporate Sales International, MediaTek Inc. added. ‘Pryme’ will be available on Amazon, with pre-registration starting from November 20.

Twitter launches Highlights for iOS to bring order to your chaotic timeline

One of my favorite Twitter features is ‘While You Were Away’, a small block in your timeline that shows the best tweets you’ve missed while you were logged off. Because I’m based in Amsterdam, it offers a great look back at all tweets sent throughout the US daytime.

About a year ago, the company extended this functionality by introducing Highlights to its Android app. When enabled, it sends a push notification when the app has created a short digest of the best tweets you’ve missed. Starting today, the feature can also be found on the iOS version of the app.

When this notification pops up, your Highlights are ready and will be shown inside the iOS app:

This is great for Twitter. Even though there was a huge backlash when the social network introduced adjustments to the timeline and features like this that break up the purely chronological experience it’s known for. But in the end it’s better — you miss out on a lot of great content while you’re gone, and this is a great way to push it in front of users.

Enabling Highlights is easy. First, go to the Me tab in the Twitter app, and tap the gear icon to go to Settings. Then under Notifications, tap Mobile Notifications and enable ‘Highlights’. If you’re still having trouble, check out the support articledetailing everything.

This awesome WordArt generator is a design blast from the past

If you’ve spent a few living minutes in the 90s, you know how important WordArt was during that time.

As a teenager, for me it was pretty much the only way to make a document look cool. By clicking a few buttons, my assignment looked at least 70 percent cooler than my classmates’.

Make WordArt is a creation by designer Mike McMillan that brings the fun back into designing documents. Gone are the minimalist shapes and copious amounts of whitespace, instead, have some green marble pattern.

The tool consists of a Windows 95-inspired interface that allows you to fill a canvas with text. After you’re done, the final design is available for download or to put on a mug.

It’s hard to choose between the various ugly options you have for your text, but my favorite is ‘rainbow with shadow’, a true WordArt staple.

Try your hand at the retro typography tool and make sure to share your creations in the comments.

Lenovo is ditching its own brand name to make way for ‘Moto’

Campaign Asia reports that gadget maker Lenovo will stop marketing smartphones with its own brand name and adopt the Moto label from here on out.

The company acquired Motorola from Google for $2.91 billion in 2014. It previously announced plans to phase out the ‘Motorola’ name for handsets at the beginning of this year; the new change comes along with a shake-up of the company’s leadership.

It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out for the Moto brand. As Android Policenoted, there’s a risk of diluting the sensible nomenclature that Moto currently uses to differentiate its high-end, mid-range and budget phones; Lenovo makes a wide variety of handsets, including the first one to feature Google’s Project Tango AR tech.

Motorola also launched its mid-range all-metal Moto M in China earlier this week; while the company hasn’t revealed whether it’ll become available globally, it’s possible that this will be another line for the brand. Introduce a bunch of Lenovo phones under that banner and you’ll have a whole lot of clutter for Moto fans and new buyers to wade through when attempting to select a new phone.