Netbanking payment option rolling out on the Google Play Store in India

If you are still trying to get over the huge announcement around the new currency notes, here is a breather. The Google Play Store is said to receive an update that will bring a new payment method to the app store.

Netbanking is one of the preferred online methods when it comes to spending money online in the country. With the new update, it will now be possible to use that method to buy apps, books and movies.

Until now users in the country could only use debit and credit cards or Play Store gifts cards. But the addition of the new payment option will make payments a bit easier for some users as it will allows them to pay directly from their bank account. Reported first by Android Police, the new update adds a new option add a bank account for netbanking. It is said that Google has tied-up with about 30 banks for netbanking payment in India.

The update is rolling out slowly as we still haven’t got the option on a Nexus 6P running on Android 7.0. Be sure to check out the Play Store on your Android device and tell us how your experience has been.

Google launches YouTube Kids in India, a library of learning oriented video content

Making it easier for today’s tech savvy kids to find videos on topics they want to explore, popular online video community YouTube on Wednesday launched “YouTube Kids” — a huge library of learning content for children — in India. “YouTube Kids comes to India at a great time for millions of Indian families, as it provides children access to content that will enrich thier lives and create new opportunities for learning,” Malik Ducard, YouTube’s Global Head of Family and Learning, said in a statement.

“India already has a very diverse and rapidly-growing creator base for kids and learning, with content in this category growing 100 per cent year over year,” Ducard added. The standalone, kid-friendly and mobile-first app is available on Google Play and App Store from Wednesday. With its playful design, large images and bold icons, YouTube Kids makes it easier for the children to find and navigate through videos like “Little Krishna” or one of the popular videos from “ChuChuTV”.

The voice search to let children find videos when they cannot type or spell a word correctly makes the app more kid-friendly. Indian kids are consuming the content from local as well as international creators, said Aman Dayal, Content Partnership Manager YouTube Kids and Learning, India and South East Asia. “Indian creators are exporting large amount of content as well. There is a uniformity in the consumption as a lot of content created in India is watched outside and a lot of content created outside is consumed in India,” Dayal told IANS.

Many top Indian YouTube Kids and learning creators will be adding new shows exclusive to the YouTube platform on the occasion of the launch, YouTube said. These include new learning shows from “ChuChuTV” and “Kids TV”, a new season of “Cat and Keet”, a popular chase comedy show by Toonz Animation, the “Gummy Bear” song in Hindi and a new season of “Appu – The Yogic Elephant”.

The service also offers parental control option. Parents can broaden or restrict their kids search — turn “on” to access millions of family-friendly videos or turn “off” to restrict their experience. Parents can also limit their kids’ screen time by setting a built-in timer. They can also put in password, restrict certain content and access settings in the app. The YouTube Kids content can also be watched on big screen using Chromecast, Apple TV, game consoles or a smart TV.

Ireland government will formally submit appeal against EC’s fine on Apple

Ireland’s government will this week formally submit its appeal against the European Commission’s multi-billion-euro demand for back taxes from Apple, Finance Minister Michael Noonan said on Tuesday. Ireland’s cabinet agreed in September to join the iPhone maker in appealing the Commission’s order that the U.S. tech giant pay up to 13 billion euros to Dublin after ruling the firm had received illegal state aid.

Dublin is seeking to protect a tax regime that has attracted many multinational employers. The European Commission decision has also angered Washington, which accuses it of trying to grab tax revenue that should go to the United States.

“The government fundamentally disagrees with the European Commission’s analysis and the decision left no choice but to take an appeal to the European Courts and this will be submitted tomorrow,” Noonan told a European Parliament committee in Brussels.

This comes right after their intent to appeal the ruling. Ireland’s debt-to-GDP ratio is around 94 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data. Apple and Dublin say the U.S. company’s tax treatment was in line with Irish and European Union law , which is part of a drive against what the EU says are sweetheart tax deals usually used by smaller states in the bloc to lure multinational companies and their jobs and investment.

Reliance Jio launch doubles demand of 4G VoLTE devices

Demand for Voice over Long Term Evolution (VoLTE) enabled devices has doubled since the launch of Reliance Jio, according to a report in Economic Times. Jio is a VoLTE only network, that only supports handsets with this capability. After the launch, Reliance has partnered with smartphone companies to make available VoLTE enabled devices to consumers.

The demand is more in price sensitive rural areas, as this market associated VoLTE technology with free voice calls. Reliance uses the same band for data and voice, with voice being another service offered over the LTE network. There is more demand in Tier 3 and Tier 4 cities as compared to Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities. Searchers for VoLTE devices have also grown in the budget category oif smartphones.

Analysts expect most devices to support VoLTE going forward. Over a third of the devices available in the market right now are VoLTE devices. Reliance Jio is one of the first Indian operators to adopt and deploy this new technology. Analyst reports confirm that the number of VoLTE devices sold this quarter is twice the number of VoLTE devices sold over the same period last year.

To cater to the section of the market that still prefers to use a feature phone over a smartphone, Reliance Jio may be launching a VoLTE enabled feature phone next year, according to a report in 91mobiles.

Apple starts selling refurbished iPhones online, but not in India

For those who want to own an iPhone but the iPhone 7 won’t fit their budget, here’s some good news. 9To5Mac points out that Apple has started selling previous-gen iPhones, but refurbished, at lower prices on its online store.

A refurbished iPhone 6s, which is still a pretty good contender in the market today, is selling at $449 that is roughly Rs 30,000 for the 16GB model, and if you want the bigger iPhone 6s Plus than the 16GB model will cost $529 (approx Rs 35,300). The 64Gb iPhone 6s Plus is priced at $589 (approx Rs 39,300). All come with free shipping and returns, and are available in all four colors. So, you would save roughly $110 that is about Rs 6,600 on iPhone 6s Plus models, and $80 (approx Rs 5,300) on the iPhone 6s. However, a 64GB iPhone 6s variant isn’t available in the refurbished form.

So, apart from the discounted rates that measure up to 15 percent, users also get a one-year factory warranty. The company also claims that the refurbished units won’t ship with older batteries, rather, they will come equipped with newer ones.

LeEco’s aggressive expansion has almost emptied the company’s coffers: Jia Yueting

All is not well at LeEco, reveals company chairman and co-founder Jia Yueting. In a letter addressed to employees, Yueting explains that the company’s troubles stem from the fact that it doesn’t have the cash to sustain its lofty ambitions.

LeEco is a company that manages dozens of businesses involving sports, media, cars, smartphones, TV, content and much more. Bloomberg, which got its hands on Yueting’s letter, state that Yueting pledged to slash his income to 1 Yuan (around Rs 10) and slow down the company’s growth to a more “moderate” rate.

The company was in the news only recently for its $2 billion acquisition of Vizio and its move into the US market. Yueting feels that while rapid growth might seem good, it was very bad for the company because it didn’t have enough funding or income to sustain that growth.

Bloomberg reports that following the reveal of the letter, the shares of Leshi Internet Information and Technology Corporation and Coolpad Group Ltd. (chaired by Yueting) both fell dramatically. Coolpad reportedly took the worse hit, with shares falling by 25 percent.

The company chairman now wants his employees to focus on “existing businesses” rather than building new ones. Apparently, the company’s fundraising capabilities couldn’t keep up with the needs of rapid expansion.

What this means for us, as consumers, isn’t clear yet. But as unclear as that is, it’s very apparent that LeEco is in dire straits if it’s being forced to resort to such measures.

Facebook launches Messenger Platform 1.3 with more features for developers and businesses

Facebook Messenger chatbots allow businesses to engage with customers in a conversational platform. For the business, it is a direct line to the customer, and users have the luxury of engaging and disengaging from the conversation as and when time permits. The platform has been used for customer service, advertising, accentuating native applications and creating entirely new experiences. Publishers also offer content as a subscription service over messenger.

Now Facebook is taking things a step further with the rollout of Messenger Platform 1.3. Facebook has been been collaborating with a number of third party technology services to offer a better experience on Messenger. Customer service platforms such as Zendesk, Conversocial and Salesforce, as well as chatbot platforms such as Lithium, MSG.AI and Sprinklr to develop the new features announced for the update.

Referral parameters have been added to m.me links. This allows businesses to understand where the traffic comes from, for those users who choose to engage with the chatbots. Tracking the source of the traffic allows for gauging the effectiveness of social media campaigns, or understand the best sources to embed links back to a conversation in. The parameter tracking allows for businesses to start a conversation in a way meaningful and relevant to the entry point, instead of a generic welcome message.

So far collections of items were displayed as a carousel that could be swiped through in Messenger. An update allows for a list view, with vertical scrolling. This allows businesses to structure the presentation of their offerings in various ways. Each row in the list can be tapped to expand into an action button, or an action button can be embedded at the bottom of the entire list. Developers can also include either an opt in or opt out checkbox for allowing customers to engage in Messenger conversations. The option can be presented over the course of conventional interactions with customers, including a sign up or a check out.

Facebook has been testing Newsfeed advertisements that direct customers to a messenger experience with select partners. This feature is now available to all advertisers. On clicking on a news feed advertisements, customers will jump into a conversation with the business. Sponsored messages allow advertisers to push out ads to consumers over messenger. The feature is only available after customers have initiated a conversation with the business. End users will have the freedom to block or disengage from the conversation, to prevent spam.

Only in the US, and as a beta version rollout to test with certain partners, Facebook is launching a payments program. This will allow users to make purchases over the course of the conversation itself. The process is relatively simple with a single delivery of tokenised credentials to the merchant. The buy call to action button is now available on the web version of messenger as well.