Rumor Roundup: HTC One M9, 12-Inch Retina MacBook Air and Smaller iPhones

Worldtechzone.Com

Mark L is back to tackle the biggest tech rumors of this week! On this week’s episode of Rumor Roundup, Mark talks about HTC readying its next flagship, the HTC One M9, with impressive specs like a Snapdragon 810 processor and a whopping 3GB of RAM and Apple finally releasing the long awaited 12-inch Retina MacBook Air.
Mark also talks about Apple rethinking its phone strategy by releasing a diminutive 4-inch iPhone alongside it’s traditional “s” iPhone updates. All this and more in this episode of Rumor Roundup!

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Ban lifted, OnePlus can sell the One in India once again

Have you ever heard the theory of winning a battle, but losing the war? A judge in India has lifted the sales ban on OnePlus One Android smartphones in India, but is it enough to ‘win the war?’
OnePlus experienced a major let down a short while ago when an agreement between Cyanogen and Micromax led to the ban of sales of the OnePlus One in India. Today’s decision does not fully overcome the problems for the OnePlus team and its customers, instead, we are seeing a temporary lift of the sales ban, and nothing more.
The decision to lift the ban comes from the opinion that fellow smartphone manufacturer Micromax, with its ‘exclusive right to use Cyanogen’s custom Android software’ within India, is not actually in competition with OnePlus in the market. Micromax primarily produces phones for the low end market, where OnePlus has been deemed to target the high end market.

What comes next, you ask? Well, everything will be kicked back to the original judge in a couple weeks, giving all parties some time to look over the situation. We have no idea as yet how things will go when it all lands back in court, where OnePlus will, again, need to try to convince the judge to let them continue sales in the country.
In terms of the ‘war,’ many will see this victory as too little to make a difference. OnePlus can sell the One in India now, however, even if the decision goes their way in a couple weeks, owners of the One will still not be receiving updates to their system – a continuation of the Micromax agreement, check out our initial coverage for more details.
These are tough times for OnePlus in India, do you think this victory will start the ball rolling for success in the country?

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Microsoft Dedicates New Site to People Switching From Mac to Windows

Microsoft has taken repeated shots at Apple’s MacBook lineup, and the Redmond company is taking its efforts even further with a dedicated site for those making the switch away from Cupertino. It’s unclear how successful Microsoft’s cause has been thus far, but it’s not hard to find an ad that takes issue with Apple’s famous laptop family. There’s been one ad in particular that is almost impossible to avoid, and Microsoft’s not stopping there.
The page setup by Microsoft isn’t actually meant for straight up comparisons. Instead, it assumes you’ve purchased (or plan to purchase) a Surface Pro 3 or Windows computer, and details what the process will be like making the switch over from OS X.
“We know moving these memories from one platform to another can be nerve-racking and learning new software can seem daunting,” the site explains. “We want to make the transition as easy as possible. If you currently have a Mac and have questions about switching to Surface Pro 3 and Windows, we designed this site to help get you started.”
Several links are then provided by Microsoft, including getting started with Windows, how to move stuff from a Mac to a Surface Pro 3, and using a Surface Pro 3 with an iPhone, iCloud and iTunes. It’s pretty much all the information you’ll ever need without needing to go directly into a Microsoft dedicated store. Follow Microsoft’s instructions, and the switch should be as painless as possible.
The timing is perfect with Christmas this week. If you just got a Surface Pro 3, or plan on making the switch from your MacBook Air in the near future, Microsoft’s new page is just for you.

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Samsung Galaxy Note Edge Launches With Good Screen at 64,900

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Samsung has today quietly launched the Galaxy Note Edge in India. The smartphone is priced at Rs 64,900 and will go on sale next month. The launch timeline is consistent with the report from earlier today.
The Galaxy Note Edge was unveiled alongside the Galaxy Note 4 at a pre-IFA event in Berlin. The talking point of the smartphone is its curved display that wraps around the right-hand side. As far as the specifications are concerned, it flaunts a 5.6-inch Super AMOLED display, but with QHD+ resolution, which adds an extra 160 pixels on the third side of the display.

Samsung has launched the Snapdragon variant of the Galaxy Note Edge, so essentially there is a 2.7GHz Snapdragon 805 quad-core processor inside, paired with Adreno 420 GPU and 3GB of RAM. The phablet also features 32GB internal storage, microSD card support, 16-megapixel rear camera with OIS, 3.7-megapixel front-facing camera, and a 3,000mAh battery.
Connectivity options include 4G LTE support, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and on the software front, it runs on Android 4.4.4 KitKat wrapped under Samsung’s TouchWiz UI.
“Samsung continues with its legacy of pioneering extraordinary innovations and setting new benchmarks in the mobile industry. The Galaxy Note Edge is a stunningly beautiful device equipped with a unique curved screen which not only makes the smartphone distinctive but also delivers a unique way to access information and optimizes functionality,” Asim Warsi, VP, Mobile & IT, Samsung India, said. “At Samsung, we relentlessly pursue customer-centric innovation and develop devices that enable consumers to express their unique style. The Galaxy Note Edge’s curved design will make the screen more meaningful to users in their everyday lives.”

Samsung has launched its Galaxy Note Edge in India. The Samsung Note Edge will be available from January first week at a price of Rs 64,900 in Charcoal Black and Frost White colours.
The Note Edge adds a curved screen extention to the Note 4. The rest of the device is the same, but the curved glass just gives it a new dimension by displaying news tickers from partners like Yahoo, or just showing your notifications or night clock in a more subtle manner.
- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/technology/mobile-tabs/samsung-galaxy-note-edge-with-curved-screen-arrives-at-rs-64900/#sthash.kYwSX9dw.dpuf

Samsung has launched its Galaxy Note Edge in India. The Samsung Note Edge will be available from January first week at a price of Rs 64,900 in Charcoal Black and Frost White colours.
The Note Edge adds a curved screen extention to the Note 4. The rest of the device is the same, but the curved glass just gives it a new dimension by displaying news tickers from partners like Yahoo, or just showing your notifications or night clock in a more subtle manner.
- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/technology/mobile-tabs/samsung-galaxy-note-edge-with-curved-screen-arrives-at-rs-64900/#sthash.kYwSX9dw.dpuf

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Snapchat Removes From Window Phones

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In lieu of growing security concerns in and around Snapchat, and more importantly, third-party apps serving as alternatives to the popular photo messaging application, Microsoft has taken the onus on itself to safeguard users' interests. Microsoft has taken all third party Snapchat apps off the Windows Phone store.

The move by Microsoft comes after Snapchat reportedly started blocking user accounts found to be accessing the service through third-party non-native apps.

Snapchat has been in the thick of things lately stemming from the fact that the service still has no official APIs for developers to issue. This has resulted in some privacy concerns with respect to the app after the gradual mushrooming of a large number of third-party apps.

Snapchat is currently available for the Android and iOS platforms. A native Snapchat app for the Windows operating system does not exist yet, something that is the soul harbinger of all the misery to Windows Phone users.     

Since official Snapchat apps are available on iOS and Android platforms users can easily remove third-party apps from their devices. The same doesn't hold true for Windows Phone users. Therefore, Microsoft had no option, but to take them all off from its official store.

One of the key advantages of Snapchat is that users' data (both text and images) is not stored for considerable period while using the service. However, the same cannot be said about third-party apps, hence the growing security concern.

Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/technology/story/all-third-party-snapchat-apps-removed-from-windows-phone-store/1/408131.html

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BlackBerry officially launches the Classic, a smartphone for yesterday

BlackBerry today announced the BlackBerry Classic, making official the smartphone that CEO John Chen has teased for the better part of a year. The Classic has a throwback look, as its name alludes, with a full QWERTY physical keyboard, physical navigation keys, and a nearly indistinguishable design from BlackBerry smartphones from years ago, such as the Bold. The Classic is significantly smaller than the Passport, which BlackBerry launched earlier this year, and is actually possible to use in one hand, unlike the gargantuan Passport. BlackBerry says this phone will appeal to those looking for the traditional BlackBerry experience that made those devices so popular so many years ago.

The Classic has a square, 720 x 720 pixel, 3.5-inch touchscreen perched above the keyboard and navigation keys. It's a bit smaller than the 4.5-inch screen on the Passport, and much smaller than the average smartphone's display, but it makes it possible to use the Classic in one hand and still have the physical QWERTY keyboard. The phone is powered by an aging dual-core Qualcomm processor from 2012 paired with 2GB of RAM. That likely won't cut it for modern mobile gaming, but it should be fine for plowing through thousands of emails a day, which is what BlackBerry expects Classic users to do. There's an 8-megapixel camera on the back of the phone, with a 2-megapixel unit on the front.

The Classic runs BlackBerry 10, which offers productivity tools like the Hub, Assistant, and Blend. It also can run Android apps, which are accessible through the Amazon Appstore that's preloaded on the device. BlackBerry diehards will be happy to know that the BrickBreaker game is also available on the Classic and can be played like it was on older BlackBerry smartphones.

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Rahul Mahajan to enter as fifth wild card entry in Bigg Boss Season 8

Se

ems like the makers of the controversial reality show ‘Bigg Boss’ are leaving no stone unturned to raise the TRP of the show. The audience will soon witness lots of twists and turns in the upcoming days.

Few days back, there were reports about show getting extended for a month and now here comes another big piece of news. If sources are too believed, Rahul Mahajan will enter Bigg Boss 8 as fifth wild card entrant.

According to a source, “The makers have approached some of the ex-contestants; especially who had created lot of buzz in the house. This list includes names like Rahul Mahajan, Sambhavna Seth, Dolly Bindra, Imam Siddique and Ajaz Khan. Rahul is almost been finalized; the final dots are yet to be signed. Talks are still going on with the other contestants.”

So what is the reason behind for one month extension? “The show is not at all getting the TRP, so to cope up with the sponsors; the makers have decided to extend the show for a month. Also they feel that bringing some old contestants back will surely impress the audience; especially bringing Rahul Mahajan and Dimpy under one roof after their divorce news will be the best twist so far in this season.”

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Upen Patel threatens to kill Gautam Gulati in Bigg Boss Season 8

Looks like Upen Patel and Gautam Gulati are not done with their Monday fight. On Tuesday's episode, they once again engage in a tussle and this time, Upen even gives death threats to Gautam! Upen tells Gautam that he would punch him in the face and Gautam dares him to go ahead. When Ali tries to intervene, Gautam warns Ali that if anything happened, Ali wouldn't be spared and then Gautam won't be responsible. Upen even gives death threats to Gautam. Later in the episode, Bigg Boss asks the duo to be mature and warns them of severe consequences including the eviction from the show. Upen also has an argument with Karishma and calls her unfair. A task is simultaneously on in Bigg Boss in which the housemates are divided into two teams. Upen leads the team of Sonali Raut and Praneet Bhatt. Dimpy Ganguli, Ali Quli Mirza and Gautam are in Pritam's team. Dimpy is asked to drink 'Mirchi Soup' and like a sport, she does it. Ali is asked to do some pushups but that creates chaos as he has an argument with Praneet over Ali not doing the pushups properly. Gautam is supposed to drink a mixture of raw eggs and he does that too, in one go. Ali and Dimpy are asked to eat Karela and they complete their task with ease.

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BEST TIME TO SHOP GIFTS FOR Merry CHRISTMAS !

Worldtechzone.Com

Worldtechzone.Com 

Christmas is the annual festival of each year which is observed on the 25th of December. Christmas is celebrated in most parts by billions of people all across the world as one of the biggest cultural and religious celebration events.Popular Modern customs of Christmas include Christmas carols singing and Gift Giving. Because of these modern customs related to Christmas it has ultimately become one of the best festival which marks the beginning of the Gift Giving Month as during this season we can find many of the great exciting online deals on many of the products like Electronics, Clothings and other Accessories.


After the Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Green Monday deal days are over now it’s the for the 12 Days of Deals which seems to be a right time for buying gifts for your friends , relatives or your loved ones. These 12 Days of Deals by Amazon will bring great deals at a very price for you including the deals which you have been looking for this Gift Giving Season. This is totally a new concept by Amazon which would feature the best and the top new deals for the consecutive 12 days.

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Facebook: No Dislike Button Coming, But Maybe Something Else

If you dig what someone posts on Facebook, you can simply Like it to let them know. But what happens when someone posts bad news? Maybe you don’t want to comment, but still want to acknowledge that you’ve read the post. Facebook doesn’t really have an option for that space, but that may change soon.

According to the BBC, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently confirmed that there’s real interest in launching some form of button that allows you to express something other than a Like.

“A lot of times people share things on Facebook that are sad moments in their lives,” Zuckerberg said. “Often people tell us that they don’t feel comfortable pressing ‘like’ because ‘like’ isn’t the appropriate sentiment. The thing that I think is very valuable is that there are more sentiments that people want to express.” Zuckerberg specifically said that Facebook won’t add a “dislike” button.

“I don’t think there needs to be a voting mechanism on Facebook whether posts are good or bad,” he said, according to Marketing Land. “I don’t think that’s socially very valuable or good for the community.”

He explained that he doesn’t want people to use a dislike button to “demean” people, and Facebook is still looking for the right solution. Zuckerberg didn’t provide a timeline for when such a feature may finally be available.

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Yahoo Starts Prompting Chrome Users To “Upgrade” To Firefox

If you’re visiting any Yahoo property today, chances are you’ll see an “Upgrade to the new Firefox” link in the top-right corner of your browser window. The prompt also appears if you’re using Internet Explorer, Opera and even the new Yandex browser. However, the prompt is missing from Safari, which will surely prompt a new round of speculation about Apple’s rumored switch to Yahoo as its default search engine.

Given that Firefox now uses Yahoo as its default search engine, this move doesn’t come as a huge surprise. Yahoo clearly wants as many people as possible to use Firefox — and with it its search engine (which is powered by Microsoft Bing).

Firefox’s user share has dropped quite a bit over the last few years, so Mozilla has no objections to putting the Firefox logo in front of as many Yahoo users as possible. Changing the default search engine in Firefox is trivial (and Firefox recently made it even easier), but most users never bother to make the switch. The new Yahoo Search design for Firefox users also looks pretty much exactly like Google’s, so some users may not even notice the difference.

It’s still too early to know whether the Yahoo/Mozilla deal made any difference in terms of market share for either of the two organizations, but chances are we’ll see at least a small uptick in Yahoo’s numbers come January.

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HTC’s Magnetic Nexus 9 Cover Finally Available to Order

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We have some good news if you’re looking for a flashy accessory to protect your newNexus 9. HTC’s Magic Cover is available now from the company’s website, offering a magnetic design that serves as both screen protector and stand.

The origami-inspired cover can fold up to support your tablet at a number of different angles, so it should work whether you want to kick back and watch a movie or fire off some emails. You can pick it up now in Coral Amethyst (pinkish orange) from HTC. Google Play and Amazon also list the Magic Cover in black, indigo (green) and lime stone (yellow), though both sites still say the cover is out of stock.

HTC’s Magic Cover is available for $39.99. That’s not particularly cheap, but not a bad deal for what it offers. If you’re interested, hit the source link below and scroll down to the accessories section of HTC’s Nexus 9 webpage.

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iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus Get Huge Discounts at Walmart

Worldtechzone.Com  

Don’t fret if you missed out on Black Friday or Cyber Monday deals for a new smartphone. There are still plenty of ongoing sales, and Walmart is the latest retailer with a discount on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

According to Bloomberg, Walmart has dropped the price of the 16GB iPhone 6 to $129 and the price of the iPhone 6 Plus to $229, so long as you sign up for a new two-year contract with AT&T, Sprint or Verizon. The retailer typically sells those devices for $179 and $279, respectively, which is still cheaper than what you’ll find direct from Apple.

Walmart is also discounting older models of the iPhone, including the iPhone 5s, and the Galaxy S5. The sale is only available in-store, Bloomberg said, and will reportedly run for just a week.

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Galaxy S6 Photo Leaked

The first alleged Galaxy S6 photo leaked out on Friday, courtesy of Dutch tech blog Toptienmobie. The image, which appears to show a pretty complete prototype, comes via email from an anonymous leaker, though there’s no guarantee it isn’t a fake.

Based on this leak, the Galaxy S6 actually looks pretty similar to the Galaxy S5. However, the bezels on either side are definitely thinner, and the front-facing camera has been repositioned as well. It’s unclear if the device features metal edges, like the Galaxy Note 4, though it’s certainly possible.

We still don’t know what kind of hardware Samsung will include with the Galaxy S6, though recent rumors suggest it could be another powerhouse device. The upcoming smartphone will allegedly come equipped with a 5.5-inch Quad HD display, a 20-megapixel rear camera, a 5-megapixel front-facing camera, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. It’s also likely to pack a Snapdragon 810 processor or Samsung’s own Exynos 7420 chip.

The Galaxy S6 is expected to launch early next year, and based on the recent product cycle it could get an official unveiling at Mobile World Congress 2015 in March. Until then we won’t know anything for sure, though we have a feeling this won’t be the last time Samsung’s Galaxy S6 leaks online.

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Most Popular Android Apps of 2014

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Google just released its ranking for the most downloaded apps and games of 2014. The company breaks down the competition into eight categories covering education, health & fitness, music, photography, social, entertainment, sports and travel, along with a separate ranking for mobile games. Before you scroll down, see if you can guess which apps came out on top this year.

Ready? Here’s how the most downloaded Android apps of the year list breaks down:

• Education: Duolingo
• Health & Fitness: MyFitnessPal
• Music: Pandora
• Photography: Flipagram
• Social: Facebook
• Entertainment: Netflix
• Sports: NFL Mobile
• Travel: TripAdvisor

Google also notes that the fastest growing app category of 2014 was health and fitness. Meanwhile, the list for most popular mobile games of the year includes Candy Crush Saga, Don’t Tap the White Tile, Farm Heroes Saga, Subway Surfers and Clash of Clans.

Google also reveals the most popular media of 2014. Here’s how those rankings break down.

Movies & TV:

• Movie of the year: Frozen
• TV show of the year: The Walking Dead
• Comeback Movie: Toy Story
• Most searched actor on Google Play: Robin Williams

Music:

• Album of the Year: Frozen (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
• Song of the Year: Dark Horse by Katy Perry
• Song of the Summer: Fancy by Iggy Azalea
• Fastest Growing Genre: Soundtracks

Books of the year:

• The Fault in Our Stars
• Fifty Shades of Grey
• Divergent
• Twelve Years a Slave
• Insurgent

So that’s 2014 on Google Play. We can’t wait to see what comes next year, you can also check out Apple’s “best of iTunes” awards for a more curated take on the last 12 months in apps, games and more.

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The Great Online Shopping Festival is now open

Worldtechzone.Com

In the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday, when the clock struck 12, netizens woke up to one of the biggest online shopping jamborees in the country. With over 5 million potential shoppers already visiting the site gosf.in to register themselves, the 72-hour Great Online Shopping Festival (GOSF) from Google has 450 vendors this time, up from 250 last year and just 90 in 2012, when the festival was just for 24 hours.

Last year, about 2 million users visited the site and the merchants posted twice the growth on their daily average sales. This year, most partners are expecting three times the sales.

However, unlike the enthusiastic netizens, most websites woke up to this year’s GOSF late. While Jabong’s mobile app was updated and ready with GOSF discounts early on Wednesday morning, Amazon and Snapdeal reportedly woke up to the event a little later in the morning. However, Amazon and Snapdeal reportedly did not have GOSF on their main menu even after Myntra, now owned by Flipkart, interestingly had a very tepid discount of only 30% (for orders above Rs 1,599 – next to nothing in e-commerce terms) under the GOSF deals. In contrast, Myntra had a 50% off sale on Sunday.

This year, Google has a special section offering products at Rs 299 with free shipping and cash on delivery to attract first-time buyers, who comprised over 30% customers last year. Discounts may not be on the lower side this year, but are visible across fewer and select categories and brands.

Compared to last year, discounts have indeed come down for gadgets, a category that has picked up tremendously in online retail, said Nitin Mathur, co-founder, 91mobiles, an online gadget research and comparison site. “However, online retailers may be utilising discounting as a tool more to promote other emerging categories such as fashion and accessories (which are relatively newer categories for some of the online stores), and new distribution channels such as their mobile apps…” he added.

Discounts are just a medium to attract first-time shoppers, said Manu Agarwal, founder, Naaptol: “…The idea of Google is to educate people who haven’t experienced e-commerce as a shopping medium.”

On the first day of GOSF, on Tuesday, Jabong observed an extraordinary leap with its revenue rising four times compared to its sales on any regular day. “There has been a rise in revenue from mobile by at least six times compared to the last GOSF. Even the traffic from GOSF on the website has significantly risen by eight times as compared to last year,” said Praveen Sinha, founder and MD, Jabong.

This year, Jabong has opened its doors to some of the best offers from exclusive brands like River Island, Dorothy Perkins and Miss Selfridge, among others, Sinha added.

Meanwhile, ShopClues saw unprecedented sales and an increase in traffic by as much as 200%, just within the first 90 minutes of the festival launch. Sanjay Sethi, co-founder and CEO, ShopClues, said, “When the GOSF offers went live at 12 midnight, our site saw a 200% surge in traffic and close to 250% increase in sales within the first 90 minutes.

ShopClues had discounts going up to 85% on some of its top-selling products.

eBay India has special promotions and offers every day with customers having the opportunity to win an iPhone every 15 minutes and a Google Glass each day. Shivani Dhanda, head – marketing, eBay India, said: “This GOSF, eBay India customers will be able to access great deals and discounts across a wide range of products. We are offering special deals across brands and categories along with discounts on watches, cameras, TVs, laptops and home décor, among others. We are also offering consumers exclusive eBay merchandise including the iberry Auxus ONE smartphone and iberry RIST smartwatch.”

HomeShop18 is offering discounts of up to 80% with deliveries at no extra shipping cost, with its lowest product going for as little as R149. “In previous years of GOSF, we witnessed exceptional increase in traffic and sales on both the website as well as our mobile platform. This shopping festival has proved beneficial for us, recording a 3x increase in sales and 40% more traffic via the app… The categories that drive sales during the shopping festival are clothing, accessories and footwear, digital products, electronics and gadgets,” said Sundeep Malhotra, founder and CEO, HomeShop18.

For the second year in a row, Adlabs Entertainment is expecting online ticket sales to go up by 50-75% for Imagica and Aquamagica, its theme and water park, respectively, located at Khalapur off Mumbai-Pune Expressway.

At Adlabs, 20-30% of ticket sales continue to be from its website where customers pick and choose their choice of packages and offers.
As part of GOSF, Amazon India is doling out offers from across categories with a 10% cashback on HDFC Bank debit and credit cards (for purchases above R3,999). The e-commerce major is offering up to 70% off on home and kitchen products, books, movies, music and video games, up to 60% off in fashion and a flat 40% off on select products in toys and games. Infibeam, on the other hand, is giving out up to 45% off on mobiles, up to 50% off on tablets and up to 70% off on home theatres and home appliances, among others.

The action is also moving towards cashback and MobiKwik, a mobile wallet service provider, seems to be leading the way. As opposed to heavy discounting, cashback seems to be a better way of rewarding your customers this season, said Upasana Taku, co-founder, MobiKwik. “We are offering 20% cash backs on all leading e-commerce sites such as Snapdeal, eBay, Shopclues, HomeShop18, Naaptol, Infibeam, Dominos, MakeMyTrip, BookMyShow, Purplle, Pepperfry, AmericanSwan and FashionAndYou, among others, for payments made through the MobiKwik wallet. This is beyond the merchant offers for GOSF. Consumers stand to save money and make more purchases. We gain customer loyalty and increase awareness about our product,” added Taku.

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How To Buy Xbox Games and Windows Apps With Bitcoin ??

Microsoft has become the first major tech company to accept Bitcoin payments for digital content. Xbox games, Windows apps, music, movies, and more can be bought with the digital currency, but the option is only available to customers living in the U.S. for now.

Windows, Windows Phone, Xbox Games, Xbox Music, and Xbox Video stores are all accepting Bitcoin payments now for a wealth of digital content. First, you must add funds to your Microsoft account using Bitcoin, then make your purchases; you cannot pay with Bitcoin directly at this time.

You also cannot use Bitcoin to pay for certain services or subscriptions — such as Office 365.

Most Bitcoin transactions should be processed immediately, but Microsoft warns that they could take up to two hours. The company also notes that any funds added to your account using Bitcoin cannot be refunded.

The surprise move comes just months after Microsoft integrated Bitcoin currency conversion into its Bing search engine. It’s unclear whether the company plans to bring Bitcoin support to other countries, but it’ll likely be some time before we see a wide rollout.

Nevertheless, this is a pretty significant move from one of the biggest names in the industry.

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Google Play Now Selling Nexus 6 in the U.K.

Google has finally begun selling the new Nexus 6 through the Play Store in the U.K., more than a month after it went on sale in the U.S. If you choose to buy it directly from Google, however, you can forget having it delivered in time for the holidays.

Google is only offering the 32GB Midnight Blue model right now, with the 64GB variant “out of inventory” and the Cloud White models coming soon. The handset is priced at £499 (approx. $783), and if you buy it today, you can expect it to leave Google’s warehouse within 3-4 weeks.

That’s right — it could take up to a month for your shiny new handset to ship. The reason for such a lengthy wait is unclear, and somewhat confusing given that a number of third-party retailers and carriers have been selling the Nexus 6 in the U.K. for several weeks — and getting fresh stock regularly.

With that said, unless you’re adamant you want to buy your handset from Google for whatever reason, you’ll get it much sooner from somewhere else. Google even notes on its own Play Store listing that the Nexus 6 “will also be available from Vodafone, O2, Carphone Warehouse, Tesco Mobile, Argos and Amazon.”

The Cloud White model is currently exclusive to Carphone Warehouse in the U.K., where it can be pre-ordered unlocked and without contract for the same price Google charges. The Midnight Blue model, on the other hand, is available with next-day delivery through most channels.

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Xiaomi Banned in India

Worldtechzone.Com 

NEW DELHI: Delhi high court has put paid to Xiaomi's surging sales juggernaut in India. At least for now.

Hearing a case filed by Ericsson India against Xiaomi, the court on Monday passed an ex parte order forbidding the popular Chinese manufacturer from importing and selling its smartphones in India, according to a report by Spicy IP.

Though TOI Tech is yet to read the judgement, it has been reported that the ex parte order has injuncted Xiaomi from selling, advertising, manufacturing or importing devices that infringe the SEPs (Standard, Essential Patents) in question. It is not clear if the order will impact all Xiaomi devices sold in India or specifica devices that violate the patents.

In fact, the judge also directed the customs officials to stop the imports under the IPR Rules, 2007. Moreover, local commissioners too have been appointed to visit Xiaomi India offices to ensure the implementation of the order.

The adverse order in the case seems to have come about after Xiaomi allegedly ignored Ericsson's repeated communications.

As per the report, the patents in the Xiaomi case may also be the same ones which are the subject matters of litigation Ericsson had put up against Micromax, Gionee and Intex.

It's worth pointing out that Delhi High Court had earlier asked homegrown handset maker Micromax to pay a royalty that amounts up to 1% of the selling price of its devices to Ericsson for using the Swedish equipment maker's patents on technologies that are essential to manufacture the products.

Responding to TOI Tech, Xiaomi India head Manu Jain informed that the company hasn't officially received any communication from the court or Ericsson. He said that India was an important market for Xiaomi and that the company's legal team was evaluating the situation based on reports in the media. Jain added that Xiaomi intends to be in full compliance of all laws and is open to working with Ericsson to settle the dispute.
Xiaomi had launched its India operations in July 2014 and the country is the second largest market for the company and also the fastest growing one, as per Xiaomi Global VP Hugo Barra. The company had sold more than half a million smartphones till October. It sells phones exclusively through online marketplace Flipkart via weekly flash sales in limited numbers. The company has been panned for creating hype and artificial scarcity with claims to go out of stock in a few seconds. It stopped selling its flagship smartphone, Mi 3, after just one month of introducing it selling a 120,000 units. 

Xiaomi sells one phone model at a time and is currently offering the Redmi Note phablet. Its premium smartphone, Mi 4, is expected to launch in Q1 2015.

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Micromax Canvas Selfie With a great 13-Megapixel

micromax  has announced a new smartphone called the Canvas Selfie.The popular handset maker, as of now, has not revealed the pricing; though it has confirmed that the micromax canvaswill be available via online and offline stores starting the second week of January.
The company stressed that the new Canvas-series smartphone has been designed for the image-conscious women. It features a faux leather rear finish.
The highlight of the Micromax Canvas Selfie is its 13-megapixel front and rear cameras that are both accompanied by LED flash modules and Sony sensor.s

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Karishma Tanna is the New Captain Of Bigg Boss House 8

Finally Karishma Tanna's Dream Came True.Karishma Tanna is the New Captain Of Bigg Boss House 8. 

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Ali Quli Mirza, Praneet Bhatt, RJ Pritam, Karishma Tanna and Upen Patel get family photos, turn emotional

JK Tyres task is launched where the housemates are divided into two teams- Team Pritam and Team Dimpy.

RJ Pritam’s team include Karishma Tanna (helper), Upen Patel, Praneet Bhatt and Ali Quli Mirza.

Dimpy Mahajan’s team include Puneet Issar(helper), Sonali Raut, Diandra Soares and Gautam Gulati.

The two teams are required to pass three hurdles set up I the activity area one team at a time with one member after the other. Helpers will be guiding them and helping their respective teams throughout the task. The team which takes minimum time will win.

Pritam’s team finishes in 1.20 minutes while Dimpy’s Team finish in 1.27minutes. Pritam’s team wins by 7 seconds.

Winning team is rewarded with family photos. Ali, Praneet, Pritam, Karishma and Upen get their family photos. They get emotional and thank Bigg Boss for the gesture.

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Breaking!: Karishma Tanna Wins The Immunity Task

After the captain made his announcement, Karishma, Praneet and Dimpy were given a task to compete for immunity that could get one of them safe from the next week’s nominations. The set up of the task was, three poles were placed in the swimming pool, and each had a yellow board attached below the water level where they had to stand before the buzzer rings for the task to start. On the second buzzer the three of them had to stand on an inch in size metallic stand with the support of holding the pole and balance themselves. The one who lasted for the longest was the winner. It must have been quiet disappointing for Pritam to see Praneet giving up in 5 minutes. The competition was then between the two beauties, Karishma and Dimpy; and the result was surprising, Karishma Tanna who suffered sever head injury and got three stitches won the task despite being in the pain.
Hence, with this win, Karishma Tanna is safe from the next week’s nominations.

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How did Ali Quli Mirza Teach Diandra lesson?

As both the thieves and the guards took their stands blaming each other on playing the task the unfair way, the entire activity came to a standstill. Burglars blamed the guards on being unjust by hiding the Diamond in order to keep it safe, which was not mentioned in the rule book of the task, however the guards denied they did something like that. It was a clear cut partition inside the house, as good as cold war wherein nobody spoke much. In fact, one of the guards like Sonali preferred to mingle with the chorrs.

The chorrs complained that until the diamond returned to its original position, they wouldn’t even think of resuming the game. During mid evening, I could sense a pin drop silence inside the house as nobody moved much, there were still couple of items to be flicked as the rest were taken care during last night by Gautam. To break the silence, Diandra started banging a sauce pan with a spoon to make some noise in the house also in order to blow off Ali who was around at that time. It was a constant noise which tested Ali’s patience. Just in few seconds later, Ali grabbed a bigger utensil and hit it with an object as hard as he could, Diandra pretended to enjoy dancing on the rhythm as she stood on the kitchen platform to dance, Karishma and Sonali, who got inside hearing the noise objected her doing so and asked her to get off the platform as they keep food over it.
Praneet, KT, Sonali and Ali discussed about this entire situation later, and for the rarest of rare time patted on back of Ali in giving Diandra a good lesson without uttering a word. They appreciated him. I could see Ali’s heart screaming yayyyyyieee! But do you know Diwaaron ke bhi kaan hote hain?? No, really! As these people discussed,Upen stuck his ear just on the opposite side of the wall in order to hear about what they were plotting. Eventually, he heard Praneet saying “Inka maansik santulan bigad chukka hai”

What will happen once Upen communicates this with others?

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Gautam Gulati and Sonali Raut's Argument GetsUglier

Bigg Boss announces the 'Museum' task and divides the house into two groups- that of the thieves and the guards! Karishma Tanna tries to steal an antique by taking guards Upen Patel and Sonali Raut in confidence.

But Diandra Soares finds out and asks Karishma not to steal. Yet, Karishma does not listen to her bestie and steals the item. Post that, Dimpy Mahajan finds the stolen item and takes it back.

Gautam Gulati senses that something is going on between Upen, Sonali and Karishma. When Sonali comes in, Gautam accuses Sonali of helping Karishma and betraying the guards team.

Sonali then accuses Gautam for the same stating that there is something fishy about him too and wonders if there is a secret task given to him. Gautam told Sonali who was making rotis that he believes she betraying the team.

Sonali gets upset and says that she is not going to make rotis anymore if Gautam continues to talk to her like this. Gautam tries to humour Sonali by stating that she makes round rotis, but she gets more upset and states that she will put the same round roti on his face if he doesn't shut up.

Gautam is offended and warns her not to talk to him like she talks to Ali Quli Mirza as he is not Ali and will give it back to her. Listening to this, Sonali storms out of the kitchen

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Turn for Nominations! Six contestant's are nominated for eviction this week in Bigg Boss House 8

Trust me the housemates hate Monday as much as you, me or a school going kid would. So, as usual there was some tension in the house as the announcement for nomination was being anticipated just any moment. And then Big Boss’s godly voice put an end to the creepy silence inside the house. Pritam, who is the new captain of the house, was called inside the confession room as the others sat on the couch in the living room in front of the TV. Pritam didn’t have the slightest idea that nominations this time would not be short ‘n’ sweet but extremely hurtful too!
Quickly Big Boss asked the new captain to name five people whom he wanted to nominate this week along with the reason. I could see how curious everyone outside was to find out whose name was called out as Pritam gave reasons to nominate them.

Puneet’s name came as a shocker to everyone! Though Punzz acted to be pretty cool about it. But the after effects were going to be unpleasant, which Pritam did not anticipate. So yess! That’s how Punzz takes badla everytime he catches someone nominating him. So this week we have six people nominated Sonali, Karishma, Diandra, Puneet, Dimpy and one more contestant i'll reveal his name soon
stay tunned....................

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Pritam singh is the new captain of the Bigg Boss House

Big Boss asked both Pritam and Praneet to do their campaigning going to housemates individually on why they should vote for them. Voting happened through the ballot box where housemates also had to give Valid reasons for their choice. Pritam and Praneet were kept out of this voting. I saw the new captain(pritam) winning the captaincy with 6 votes as against to 2!

Pritam nominates five contestant's for eviction this week puneet, dimpy and other three names will be revealed soon.

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Bigg Boss Season 8 - Dimpy Mahajan & Puneet wins The Dance competition

The contestants were overwhelmed after seeing Sonakshi Sinha inside the house. The actress danced and had lot of fun with the housemates. Puneet and Dimpy danced on the tunes of ‘Muqabla’, Gautam and Diandra danced on ‘Urvashi’ song, Karishma, Pritam, Sonali and Praneet made their moves on songs like, ‘O Re Pritam Pyaare’ and ‘Chinta Ta Chita Chita’ and finally Upen, Karishma and Dimpy danced on ‘Go Go Go Govinda’. The whole atmosphere was filled with music and dance.

So, finally who won the heart of Sonakshi Sinha? “Though Sonakshi was impressed by all of the performances, but finally Puneet and Dimpy managed to win sweets from the actress

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Diandra Soares Kiss to Gautam Gulati in Bigg Boss House

Seemingly, the world is on one side and these two love birds are on another. I caught both of them once again lost in each other’s eyes just after the Saturday ka Vaar got over. As Diandra sat in one corner of the garden and Gautam on the other talking to Puneet, the lovers still kept talking to each other in sign language! What creativite way! As all of them dispersed from the place both of them stood in the garden staring at each other and Diandra acted coy! Then she muttered how fattu he is. He responded saying he isn’t scared of anyone on this earth. But Gauti, last time when I saw you being dragged to the rest room area, you looked quite pale! Why so?
Gautam told her he is just worried what will his mother think of him. Diandra grinned hidingly. Puneet told him too “Tu itna darta kyun hai?” but Gauti tried avoiding the topic. Looks like Diandra wasn’t in mood to spare him so easily, she kept provoking him to show some himmat. Heights of it being the two eating lunch near the rest room area, while others had in the living room.

And guess what happened just a few moments after that! Gautam had enough taunts from Di by then, as Di told him that there was a new latch in the bathroom, Gautam got the hint. He rushed inside the bathroom removing his mic muttering “I am not scared of anybody”

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Bigg Boss Season 8 - Diandra and Gautam locked in the bathroom

Looks like since it was Gautam’s birthday, Di tried to make it extra special for him.. I almost fainted to see the duo going towards the washroom area. Diandra pulled him inside the washroom and locked it for almost a minute. What happened inside? The moment they
came outside, Gautam had an expression -‘No more Pangaas’ with Diandra! Apparently, all this happened when Gautam told Di that he is absolutely fearless and that he doesn’t fear her. But Di knew his weakness (Winks!) Once Gautam got into the living room Renee ,Puneet and Sonali looked at him as if they wanted to bombard him with their questions. Our bindaas babe Sonali directly questioned him whom he would want to marry in future, a girl from Mumbai or Delhi? Gautam had mixed answers to the same. May be it gets clear once you watch the episode. Guess what! There was a surprise birthday party and cake cutting for Gautam towards the end of the day! Something else also happened too which left my jaws dropped during the celebration.

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BLACK FRIDAY LIVE: Updates From Start to Finish

Black Friday was already well underway before many awoke this morning.

The traditional kickoff to the holiday shopping season has become a two-day affair, with more stores opening before people put down their turkey legs on Thanksgiving. There's good reason for the creep; businesses know shoppers will only spend so much, and they want the first crack at those holiday budgets.

Still, millions of Americans are expected to head out in search of steep discounts today. TheNational Retail Federation forecasts holiday sales will grow 4.1 percent to $616.9 billion ? the biggest jump since 2011.

It's a make-or-break time for many retailers, which on average get 20 percent of their annual sales during the holiday shopping season. Already, retailers have resorted to steep discounting to lure shoppers.

Here's a look at what's happening this Black Friday.

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Ferguson Protests Hit Stores

Dozens of protesters interrupted holiday shopping to speak out about a grand jury's decision not to indict the white officer who fatally shot Michael Brown, a black teenager.

Demonstrations took place at a Target and multiple Wal-Mart stores in the St. Louis, Missouri, area, according to Johnetta Elzie, who had been tweeting and posting videos of the protests.

Protesters spent a few minutes at each store, shouting inside as law enforcement stood watch. There was no immediate word of arrests. The protests began Thanksgiving night, and more are expected Friday.

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Some Quiet Time

At around 5:30 a.m. Friday, a Target store in the suburb of Mission, Kansas, was mostly empty.

Bridget McNabb, 55, was disappointed when a worker told her the $119 deal for a TV she wanted had sold out shortly after the store opened the evening before.

In Manchester, Connecticut, a Wal-Mart store was also quiet around 5:30 a.m. A few security guards stood on the sidewalk outside the front doors. The nearby Shoppes at Buckland Hills had few customers as well at around 6:30 a.m.

Shopper Rachel Cormier was looking at clothing for one of her four grandchildren. She said the economy isn't an issue.

"I'm fortunate because my husband and I are both employed," she said.

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U.K. Gets Black Friday, Shoving Included

Black Friday is becoming a tradition in the United Kingdom, too, and businesses there are finding the shopping derby can lead to chaos.

Early Friday morning, police were called to help maintain security at some supermarkets and shopping outlets that offered deep discounts starting at midnight.

"This created situations where we had to deal with crushing, disorder and disputes between customers," said Peter Fahy, police chief for greater Manchester.

Greater Manchester Police said there were two arrests as police closed some stores to prevent more severe problems. One woman was injured by a falling television set.

Online retailer Amazon is believed to have introduced the concept of Black Friday to the U.K. four years ago, with more businesses joining every year since.

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Crowd Control

Back in the U.S., businesses are taking steps to keep crowds under control. Such efforts were stepped up after 2008, when a Wal-Mart worker died after a stampede of shoppers.

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Big Boss Season 8 - Gautam's Birthday celebrated in style

After a chaotic or rather dramatic outcome of the previous day, Bigg Boss 8 housemates wake up to Day 68. A new energy is flaring around the realms of the house as it is Gautam Gulati’s 27th birthday. All the housemates who were at one point resisting Gautam’s presence are now happy for him and are looking forward for his birthday celebration.
Puneet who is the most excited of all is seen making kheer for all thehousemates on the occasion. While Diandra and Gautam carry on their flirting, others gear up for their household course for the day. Ali enters in the house after a day off in a separate room and none of the housemates talk to him or show any kind of concern for his health.
As the day progresses, Bigg Boss announces that breaking of rules will not be accepted in the house and hence nominate Sonali for the whole season week on week as a punishment for slapping Ali. Sonali, who is not happy with the decision, thinks it is unfair but accepts it. Ali keeps mum but looks satisfied.
In the evening, Bigg Boss launches the Captaincy task where former captains Gautam, Diandra, Upen, Ali and Puneet will select one contestant among all the other housemates to become the next captain. Dimpy, Sonali, Karishma, Praneet, Pritam and Renee are the contenders for the captaincy race. The task set up in the garden area consists of a board with the photos of all the contenders. In front of every photo is kept a bottle of colored water. As per the rule one former captain at a time will go and empty the bottle of a particular contestant whom they don't want to make the captain. On the sound of the buzzer one after the other all the former captains will come forward and do the task.
As the day comes to an end, Gautam settles down feeling a little disappointed that there is no celebration on his birthday. However, Bigg Boss surprises him by sending a cake for him. Diandra brings in the cake as all others jump up with excitement. Gautam’s happiness knows no bound as he cuts the cake while everyone sings happy birthday for him. The celebrations get even more interesting as Gautam’s signature track “Urvashi’ is played in the background. All the housemates are in a cheerful mood. On Gautam’s demand, all the girls put on their dancing shoes and show off their glamorous moves while all the boys go shirtless ending the day by celebrating the blue eyed boy’ s birthday in style.

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Big Boss Season 8 - Football match followed by Gautam's bithday party in the Bigg Boss house

The Luxury budget task this time required the girls in the house to choose three men to play a football task in the activity area. The floor of the activity area was made slippery with sand and oil making it badly slippery. The chosen men were – Upen, Gautam and Praneet. The boys were supposed to move the footballs kicking gently till the red mark and then striking a goal. The challenging bit was to roll the balls uptil the red line, which was difficult owing to the zero friction supporting the grip. Boys played like kids and I had fun watching them.Upen won the game by converting12 goals and he won a trophy too! Yayyieee! Let’s see how the luxury budget benefits housemates.

Later in the evening Di was called inside the confession room and to her awe there was a birthday cake waiting! Since morning all the housemates kept requesting Big Boss to send a birthday cake for Gautam. You could see a million dollor smile on Gauti’s face, who had actually lost hope of having a birthday celebration. Not only this, Bigg Boss also played ‘Urvashi Urvashi.' That was not all, there were back to back party tracks played for celebrations as all the boys got shirtless to dance and to set the right mood the lights in the house were turned milder. Oh Gosh! But then a slow track was played hinting at Gauti and Di to dance in each other’s arms! Diandra looked so shy! Awww!

It was an incredible end of the day!

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