Why Motorola's Moto Z can be great for an entrepreneur

The Motorola I knew is back or seem to be coming back to life. I am not an insider and neither do I know any insiders, so no sources based story here. But from what one can see from the outside, the brand run by Lenovo is running somewhat independent. How a Rover and Jaguar runs under TATA.

Motorola, in my view, can give a run for the money to Apple if you are an OS agnostic and price sensitive person.

The latest offering from Motorola Moto Z is exciting. Not the phone actually which in my view can be contested and is similar to a lot of phones out in the market, barring the sleekness. But what is exciting are the Moto Mods. I am not sure of their performance as I am yet to try them but the very concept opens up a range of ideas, and third-party Mod accessories that I am sure will now hit the market.

Motorola has also released a developer's kit so who knows we get an induction Mod to cook our 2 Minute Maggie noodles on the go using the MOTO Prestige Induction Mod.

Samsung has a lot to worry as this could be Motorola's 'Holidays' Cashing time. Motorola has an opportunity to eat Samsung's lunch the way Micromax & Samsung ate Nokia's in the years 2009-2014.

The mod that caught my attention is the projector function. Something one craves for in the iPhone. There were rumours about the projection feature in iPhone 7 and iPhone 7plus, but that never happened.

Casting and Projecting are two different fundamental concepts. So I don't want to get on the Apple TV, Chromecast, media streamer debate.

People can invest much lesser in quality portable speakers so not sure about the JBL SoundBoost Speaker Mod at Rs 6,999 will excite or even the Hasselblad True Zoom Camera Mobile Mod for Rs 19,999 where you can buy an entry level DSLR camera at those costs.

But the projector mod can make a serious dent. Both professionals and general owners. Then again the Moto Insta Share Projector Mobile Mod is priced at a whopping premium of Rs 19,999.

Imagine walking into a meeting, and instead of carrying a laptop and struggling with the projector cables, you have a powerful full-function phone that projects at 480p. The 2 Minute Pitch to an investor by a startup seeking funds gets wrapped in time and is glazed with 'Technology used for Productivity. Could be a bit of a show off too! But then great tech ideas start with showing off and then become the trend.

What is strange is that Motorola had extensive branding and advertisements in all leading dailies, but the projector mod and others were simply not available anywhere. So why to make noise when the products are not there on the shelf?

But I am excited and would say go for it. Moto Z is revolutionary, future ready and sexy! And the concept has just unleashed unlimited possibilities.

Nintendo Switch hybrid console revealed: Games, Price and other things to know

Nintendo Switch features a tablet-like display unit that can dock at home and connect with the TV

"A portable couch gaming system"

Nintendo Co. unveiled its long-awaited new gaming platform, the Switch, featuring a tablet-like console that will allow gamers to play at home and on the go. In a three-minute video released Thursday, the Kyoto, Japan-based company showed gamers using the new system to play in their living rooms, but also detaching a part of it to continue playing at an airport, in a car and at a barbecue. It showed several titles from its flagship franchises, including Zelda, Super Mario, Mario Kart and a basketball game. Nintendo reiterated in the video that the new system, originally dubbed NX, will be released in March. A price wasn’t disclosed. The company is trying to carve out a niche between casual smartphone gamers and more serious players who use consoles such as Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 4, according to Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad.

“They’ve certainly found their place in the market and this is the most logical thing for Nintendo to do. It’s quite a positive,” said Ahmad, who covers the game industry. “Providing this two-in-one solution, this is very unique and something that the PlayStation doesn’t do and something that smartphones don’t really do either.”

Nintendo’s American depositary receipts in New York added 2.1 percent after the video was aired. Shares in Tokyo rose 3.3 percent, adding more than $1 billion in market value in their biggest rally in a month, after Nintendo flagged the video’s release.

Smartphone Embrace

The new device features a tablet-like display unit that can dock at home and connect with the TV, or be taken out and about with two detachable controllers for multiparty play. Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima said in April that “it will allow for a whole new way to experience hardware and software together.”

The Switch’s portable feature puts it at odds with Nintendo’s recent embrace of smartphones. After years of ignoring pleas from fans and investors to bring its games to mobile phones, the company is planning to release Super Mario Run for Apple Inc.’s devices in December. The release follows this summer’s wildly successful Pokemon Go, which was developed by San Francisco-based Niantic Inc. with Nintendo’s help.

Investors have cheered the shift to mobile, sending Nintendo shares in Tokyo up more than 60 percent this year through Thursday’s close. Nintendo is also planning to release mobile titles for its Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem franchises by March.

The company is betting the hybrid approach will help the Switch become a hit like the Wii, its most-successful console ever thanks to its motion-tracking controllers. The machine, which debuted in 2006, went on to sell more than 100 million units worldwide and helped propel the company’s market value to about $90 billion in late 2007, almost three times its market capitalization today.

But its 2012 follow-up, the Wii U, was criticized for being less powerful than competing consoles from Sony and Microsoft Corp. Only 13 million units were sold as of June, less than a third of the 40 million PlayStation 4s that Sony has shipped.

Ahmad said that while the Switch will end up competing with smartphones, it also offers features that make it superior. Not only will controllers provide a better gaming interface than a smartphone touchscreen, but having two of them should allow gamers on the go to get started with much less hassle.

“On mobile, to get other players to play with you you’d typically need two separate smartphones.,” said Ahmad. “This is a lot more inclusive and this is a good move from Nintendo.”

Price Point

How well the new hardware does may depend largely on the price, according to Macquarie Securities analyst David Gibson. In a research report last week, he estimated the device would retail for about $250 to compete with the PS4’s $299 price tag. Gibson wrote that the new hardware is likely to disappoint in terms of revolutionary features, but that a strong lineup of gaming titles will help to fuel demand at launch. He estimated Nintendo will sell 2.5 million units in its first month and an additional 10.6 million units by March 2018.

Nintendo said several game developers and publishers will make titles for the Switch, including Activision Blizzard Inc., Capcom Co., Square Enix Holdings Co., Bandai Namco Holdings Inc. and Electronic Arts Inc., among others. Nvidia Corp. said its graphics chips will power the new device.

Nintendo’s Switch console could “revolutionize”’ the way people play games because of its unique capabilities and design, Ubisoft Entertainment SA Chief Executive Officer Yves Guillemot said in an e-mailed statement. The Montreuil, France-based company that has made hits including Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry is working on several games for the new platform, including Just Dance 2017, Guillemot said.

THE ULTIMATE CHROMECAST

Chromecast vs Chromecast Ultra: what Google offers with the video streaming devices

#CHROMECAST

The Chromecast is available in the US for $35 (roughly Rs 2,329), and the Chromecast Ultrais coming soon for almost twice that price, for $69 (Roughly Rs 4,592). In India, only theChromecast is available for Rs 3,399 and the Chromecast Ultra is not yet listed. The Chromecast Ultra can be expected to have a thousand rupees added to the direct conversion price considering that there is a similar price bump for the Chromecast in India.

The Chromecast

The Chromecast is described as “Stream your favorite entertainment from your phone straight to your TV” whereas the Chromecast Ultra is described as “Stream in up to 4K Ultra HD and HDR with stunning picture and lightning speed”. The Chromecast supports up to 1080p resolution, but the Chromecast Ultra cans stream in 4k. The Chromecast Ultra has a faster processor, which and is listed as being almost twice as fast as the Chromecast. The Chromecast Ultra also has a dedicated ethernet port, which should give a performance benefit as compared to wireless video streaming. Chromecast supports HDR streaming as well, but users can enjoy the benefit only if they have both HDR content and HDR TV.

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The Chromecast Ultra

Power users and early adopters will stand to benefit by using the Chromecast Ultra. To fully utilise the device, consumers need an ethernet cable close to their televisions. The television has to support both 4K video and HDR video. Bandwidth should also not be a constraint as 4K HDR video streaming is one of the most demanding applications and consumes a lot of data. Current owners of a device stand to benefit by an upgrade only if they own a 4K HDR television.

Apple iPhone 7 and 7 Plus first impressions: If you love the iPhone, this one’s a notch above the old one

#APPLE IPHONE 7

Apple launched its latest iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus in India just in time for Diwali, when shopping is at an all-time high. At the launch event in San Francisco last month, Apple showcased the latest edition of the iPhone smartphones. We finally got our hands on the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. The devices we received were a Gold iPhone 7 and a Black iPhone 7 Plus.

Design and Build

Front

If I’d to comment on the design and build of the newest iPhones, I’d go by face and side of the device. The front, with the position of the home button, front facing camera, screen and the speaker and proximity sensor are identical compared to the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus.

The Home button is functionally and physically different, but visually they’re identical in construct to the Home button on the previous iPhone. Unlike the button you could physically press, in case of the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, it’s a pressure sensitive button that doesn’t get pressed. What the OS does though, is it activates the new Haptic feedback component to give you a real-time feedback experience.

Rear

The highlight of the new iPhone has got to be – Black. Black or Jet Black, depending on your preference with matte or gloss. And the device colour is reflected in the rear. Here the changes are evident. Antenna bands that were visible across the device in the earlier iPhone are perfectly camouflaged. To give a feel of how the products feel, Black feels like the iPhone you interface with. Jet Black which is a richer black, is glossy, and feels quite like the OnePlus X Ceramic Black. Despite being glossy, it’s not slippery on skin.

Sides

The layout of buttons is identical too. But the buttons are mechanically sturdier. On the bottom of the device, the speaker grille is now symmetrical with perforations on either side of the lightning connector. And as you’d know, the 3.5mm audio jack is missing. The box comes with an adapter that lets you use your existing audio accessories. The default headphone though comes with a lightning connector.

Display

As Apple usually does, pixel density is kept constant. The iPhone 7 comes with a screen size of 4.7inch (1334 x 750 pixels) while the iPhone 7 Plus has a screen size of 5.5inch (1920 x1080 pixels). The differentiator though is a wide colour gamut display.

A wide colour gamut implies a wider colour range. The more colours you capture on a better sensor is rendered useless if your printers and displays can’t reproduce them. It’s like having a superior mic when speakers around can’t reproduce them. Over the years, as sensors got better, user experience was still limited by limitations in the display. With a wide colour gamut display, Apple aims to get users impressed.

Chipset, RAM, Storage

The new iPhone devices are powered by the latest Apple A10 Fusion chipset, which Apple says is twice as fast as the iPhone 6. The A10 Fusion chip has a four-core processor with 2 high performance cores and 2 high efficiency cores. This enhances overall processing performance of the device.

With the latest devices, Apple has gone ahead and doubled storage options. From the initial 16GB, 64GB and 128GB versions in the 6s and 6s Plus, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are available in 32GB, 128GB and 256GB versions. The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are run 2GB and 3GB RAM, respectively.

OS and Connectivity

With the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, 3D Touch gets a significant level of importance. Although the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6 Plus also featured 3D Touch since iOS 9, the level of incorporation of this pressure sensitive feature has expanded. Now you could just press on the calendar app icon to see your next meeting or event planned instead of initiating the app. Similarly, you could press on your browser icons (Safari and Chrome) to open a new normal tab or an incognito/private tab.

The latest iPhone 7 and 7 Plus has also increased the LTE bands it supports and speeds up to 450Mbps. Along with dual band WiFi 802.11ac support, Bluetooth 4.2, NFC for Apple Pay and no FM radio.

Camera

Cameras need a special mention here. Although in terms of megapixels, Apple ‘still offers’ just 12MP there are some changes. Apple says it has redesigned the camera module with a six-element lens, and better integration of hardware and software in the iPhone 7 Plus for optical zoom to go up to 2x and digital zoom that lets you go upto 10x, while video could go upto 6x.

If you’re into photography, then the iPhone 7 Plus would let you capture a significant amount of depth and range, thanks to the dual-camera setup comprising a f/1.8 28mm for wide and f/2.8 56mm for telephoto sensors.

To complement the focus on imagery and photography, Apple has added a

four-colour LED flash for enhanced compensation of light and warmth.

Both devices also feature a 7MP front camera. The devices support 4k video recording, have optical image stabilisation and can record at 1080p.

Battery

Compared to the iPhone 6s (1715mAh) and iPhone 6s Plus (2750mAh), the new iPhone 7 (1960mAh) and iPhone 7 Plus (2900mAh) has improved battery capacities. Apple says the iPhone 7 gives you 2 hours more charge compared to the iPhone 6s, while the iPhone 7 Plus would give you an hour more worth of charge.

Conclusion

All said and done, it’s worth noting how subtle elements of the device such as the two black options have become the buzz online. The black options of the device do bring with it an identity of their own. The Jet Black, despite being glossy is pleasant to hold. The Black though, is similar to existing iPhone devices in terms of texture.

If you’re a long-time iPhone user, you would notice the new Home button, which isn’t pressable anymore. Real-time feedback, though, makes it feel like it is a tactile button. This construction reduces mechanical wear and tear and could increase longevity of the device.

That brings us to the primary question – iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus?

That’s a dilemma in the true sense, but the answer is pretty straightforward. This is just our first impression of the two devices. Tech2 will put up a much more detailed, objective and practical piece to help you choose between the two devices if you’re looking to upgrade.

Till then, if you love large screens and love photography, you’d be amazed at the capabilities of the dual-camera setup in the iPhone 7 Plus. On the other hand, if you’re someone on the move, needs to be reachable longer with a lot of typing and responding to emails, requiring productivity, the iPhone 7 just helps you do that better.

Microsoft launching its new surface A-I-O device

Microsoft’s October 26 event could see the future of Windows 10 on a Surface branded All-in-One device (Source: Microsoft)

Microsoft’s next big event is happening on October 26 and in all likelihood, the Redmond-based software maker has few hardware devices to show off. For Microsoft, October has always been about Surface branded hardware. Last year, Microsoft stunned the world by announcing Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book.

Google Pixel XL First Look

However, it seems like a quite event this time around. According to ZDNet, Microsoft’s October 26 will be more about Windows 10 and less about Surface hardware. The focus is reportedly around Windows 10 Redstone 2 update and Microsoft is rn

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Microsoft is widely rumoured to announce Surface All-in-One type device at this event. There are reports indicating Microsoft’s plan to announce a new type of Surface keyboard and mouse at this event. With Intel’s seventh gen Core i processors hitting notebooks, Microsoft would use the stage to demonstrate partner products – especially at a time when PC sales are going down globally.

One thing is certainly sure – Microsoft won’t be launching a new fitness band and there are also no likelihood of Surface branded smartphone. Lately, Microsoft has taken great deal of time to unify Windows 10 across platforms and recently delivered Project Centennial – which acts as a bridge between traditional Windows program and Windows Store apps.

Microsoft is currently two major software updates under Redstone 2, likely to be available next year. The Verge reports Microsoft will also showcase some cross platform gaming strategy tying Xbox deeper into Windows 10 at this event. Microsoft also doesn’t seem to be in a mood to refresh Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book with new Intel Kaby Lake processors. According to The Verge, Microsoft won’t be refreshing existing Surface devices and will showcase OEM products instead.

Also Read: iPhone 7 India launch: Apple gets into festive momentum with new flagship

If you are invested on Microsoft’s Windows 10 ecosystem or invested on Forza Motorsport then this event might set the future of both the platform – which are technically becoming one. Microsoft’s event is scheduled for October 26 at 10 AM Eastern time and do stay tuned for more updates just ahead of the launch.