NEWS LETTER
TBR
Telecom
World’s first thermal camera smartphone
US-based Caterpillar has developed 'Cat S60', the world’s first smartphone with a thermal camera. The device is waterproof to a depth of up to 5 metre, takes live thermal images and measures surface temperatures. It has a 4.7-inch display, 'Flir' thermal camera and 32 GB expandable storage. The phone costing $599 is scheduled to release at the end of May.
World’s cheapest smartphone to cost Rs.251
Noida-based handset maker Ringing Bells has unveiled 'Freedom 251', the world's cheapest smartphone, priced at Rs 251. The 3G-enabled Android phone sports a 4-inch qHD display, 1 GB RAM, 3.2 MP rear camera, 0.3 MP front camera, 8 GB in-built memory and is powered by a 1.3 GHz quad-core processor. It will be available on company's website between February 18-21.
Start-up makes charger to charge iPhone in 5mins
Australia-based start-up has developed the world’s fastest phone charger, ASAP Dash that can recharge a battery of 5,000 mAh in 15 minutes. Sixteen times faster than market standards, the high-capacity, pocket-sized charger can fully charge an iPhone 5 in five minutes and a Samsung S6 in 10 minutes. It features a long-lasting battery that allows 1,200 charge cycles.
BUSINESS
Yahoo to shut down seven online magazines
Yahoo on Wednesday announced that it will shut down seven digital magazines including Yahoo Food, Health and Travel. The company also mentioned that it has designed a plan to focus on the successful areas– News, Sports, Finance and Lifestyle. This news came after the company confirmed that it would lay off 15% of its staff as part of a restructuring.
Vidooly buys video discovery start-up iCouchApp
Indian video analytics platform Vidooly acquired Noida-based video content engagement and discovery start-up iCouchApp for an undisclosed sum. As part of the deal, Vidooly will get all the assets and the intellectual property of iCouchApp. Founded in 2014, Vidooly is a YouTube big data marketing and analytics product for content creators, brands & multi-channel networks.
Tracxn raises funding from Mohandas Pai and others
Analytics firm Tracxn has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from a group of angel investors including Nandan Nilekani, Mohandas Pai, WhatsApp VP Neeraj Arora and Freshdesk CEO Girish Mathrubootham. Founded in 2013, by Abhishek Goyal and Neha Singh, it tracks startups across sectors spanning enterprise infrastructure, edtech, fintech and more. Recently, Tracxn raised funding from Ratan Tata.
MARKETING
Amazon to enable sellers set shop in 1 hour
Amazon has launched ‘Amazon Tatkal’, a service that will enable small and medium businesses (SMBs) to sell on Amazon.in, in less than 60 minutes. Under this, specially trained Amazon representatives will educate Indian sellers on the benefits of selling online, and help them establish businesses on its platform in real-time. The service will first launch in New Delhi.
Google Translate now features over 100 languages
Google’s online language translation tool now covers 103 languages after it added 13 new ones including Sindhi, Hawaiian and Kurdish. It claims that the service, which started in April 2006, now covers 99% of the online population. To add a new language, it must be a written language with a significant amount of translations already online, the company explained.
ECONOMY
Venezuela sees 1st fuel price hike in 20 yrs
Venezuela on Wednesday announced the first rise in petrol prices in 20 years, and a sharp devaluation of the currency. Price for 95 octane gasoline will jump 6,086%, from 0.097 bolivars to 6 bolivars. The move is aimed to shore up the failing economy, hard hit by falling oil prices, which make up 95% of foreign income.
Government may up FY16 deficit target to 3.9%
The government may increase its fiscal deficit target for the next financial year to 3.9% of GDP from the earlier set target of 3.5%, global banking firm Goldman Sachs said on Thursday. This is required to facilitate a push in rural demand, and to pay higher wages to civil servants, following the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations, it added.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Freedom 251 site crashes due to 6L hits per sec
The website of the Freedom 251 smartphone, developed by Noida-based Ringing Bells, crashed on Thursday after it received "approximately six lakh hits per second". The company said, "[W]e are…taking a pause and upgrading the service and will revert within or before 24 hours". Priced at Rs251, Freedom 251 is the world’s cheapest smartphone and available for pre-order till February 21.
New Truecaller SDK lets apps verify new users
Online telephone directory Truecaller has released a new software development kit (SDK), called TrueSDK, that lets third-party apps sign up new users with their existing Truecaller profile and associated verified phone number. Early access to TrueSDK, released only for Android platform, has been given to 12 Indian apps including Quikr, MobiKwik, redBus and OYO Rooms.
FINANCE
Financial tech startup IndiaLends raises Rs6.5 cr
Delhi-based financial technology startup, IndiaLends has raised Rs6.5 crore in bridge round from the existing investors, DSG Consumer Partners, Siddharth Parekh and other angel investors. Gautham Radhakrishnan, Partner at Tata Opportunities Fund also participated. Founded by Gaurav Chopra and Mayank Kachhwaha, IndiaLends is an online marketplace connecting consumers with institutional lenders.
32 listed firms paid Rs 6.3k cr in royalty in FY15
As many as 32 multinational companies listed on the BSE have paid royalties worth Rs 6,300 crore to their global parents in the last fiscal, corporate advisory firm IiAs said today. Royalty payments are made by firms for using technology know-how which is developed by their global parents. Notably, the payments translate to 21% of the company's pre-royalty pre-tax profits.
Paytm to end merchant fees for offline merchants
Online payments and m-commerce platform, Paytm will remove merchant fees for all wallet transactions that happen offline. When a customer pays a merchant digitally, a charge is levied on the merchant by banks that the merchants usually derive from customers by charging them extra. Paytm users can now scan pre-printed QR codes for making secure payments.