In 2019, Spotify began testing a hardware device for automobile owners it lovingly dubbed “Car Thing,” which allowed Spotify Premium users to play music and podcasts using voice commands that began with “Hey, Spotify.” Last year, Spotify began developing a similar voice integration into its mobile app. Now, access to the “Hey Spotify” voice feature
Month: April 2021
At first glance, Quiq and Snaps might sound like similar startups — they both help businesses talk to their customers via text messaging and other messaging apps. But Snaps CEO Christian Brucculeri said “there’s almost no overlap in what we do” and that the companies are “almost complete complements.” That’s why Quiq (based in Bozeman, Montana)
Sometimes you’ve just got to confirm an unannounced product to put the rumors to bed, I guess. That was Google’s strategy this afternoon, following earlier rumors from Android Central that a chip shortage had put the kibosh on the mid-budget phone. In a comment to TechCrunch, a Google spokesperson noted, “Pixel 5a 5G is not
TikTok is taking another step towards directly funding publishers’ content with today’s announcement that it’s financially backing the production of media publisher NowThis’ new series, “VIRAL,” which will feature interviews with public health experts and a live Q&A session focused on answering questions about the pandemic. The partnership represents TikTok’s first-ever funding of an episodic
Meet Feels, a new French startup that wants to change how dating apps work. According to the company, scrolling through photos and reading descriptions tend to be a boring experience. Feels want to improve profiles so that navigating the app feels more like watching TikTok videos or browsing stories. “For the past 10 years, there’s
When I’ve written about Stationhead in the past, I’ve focused on how the startup aims to bring the personality and interactivity of a live radio broadcast to streaming music. But CEO Ryan Star said his ambitions are broader now: “We’re going to be the largest social audio platform in the world.” The startup says it’s growing
Facebook announced this morning it will begin testing a new experience for discovering businesses in its News Feed in the U.S. When live, users to tap on topics they’re interested in underneath posts and ads in their News Feed in order to explore related content from businesses. The change comes at a time when Facebook
Assembly elections are underway in many states across India including Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Registered voters can download their Voter ID cards online. If you’re 18 years of age and above, you can cast your vote. In order to vote, every citizen must have an eligible Voter ID card before going to the poll
Passport is an important document that acts as an identity proof and is mandatory when one needs to fly outside of the country. When a user needs to apply for a new passport, they need to head to a Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) or Post Office Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK) that are available in every
Finding an Aadhaar Seva Kendra becomes important if you want to enrol for Aadhaar for yourself or any of your family members. You also need to visit your nearby Aadhaar Seva Kendra to update your existing Aadhaar with the new mobile number or address. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has provided easy ways
Applying for a passport online in India requires one to register on the Passport Seva portal and follow a few simple steps. The online experience is seamless, though you will need to visit the Passport Seva Kendra or a Regional Passport Office physically to complete the process after taking an appointment online. The Ministry of
Indian Premier League 2021 aka IPL 2021 is set to begin from Friday, April 9. The fourteenth season of the Twenty20 cricket league will bring a total of eight teams that will play matches at six different venues across India. While many cricket fans were looking to watch the forthcoming season of the Vivo IPL
Passport address needs to be changed? You can do this online, directly through the Passport Seva portal. It lets you apply for a re-issue of your passport with the new address. You can go through the process given below if you’ve relocated to a new address or are in plans to change your existing address
DigiLocker is a cloud storage service for your government-issued documents created by Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY) under Digital India Corporation (DIC). It uses your Aadhaar Card as identification and allows you to digitise your documents and make them available to you at all times, provided you have an Internet connection. These digitised documents
Applying for a driving licence? You can go with both offline and online methods to get your driving licence in India. However, given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the online process appears to be the most logical way out now. It also makes things easier as you don’t need to stand in any queues or visit
You can keep your driving licence on your smartphone or download its soft copy instead of carrying it physically. The government has provided an option to help keep your driving licence saved on your phone or have its soft copy via DigiLocker or the mParivahan app. This comes handy especially if you forget to carry
Looking for an Airtel store nearby? Airtel is one of the leading telecom operators in India with millions of subscribers. It offers prepaid, postpaid, and broadband offerings, and competes with other telcos like Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea. Airtel retail stores offer customer care support, release new SIM cards, and even deal with mobile number
Samsung Smart Monitor M5 and Smart Monitor M7 have launched in India. The Smart Monitor M5 has a 27-inch display, while the Smart Monitor M7 has a 32-inch display. Samsung calls its Smart Monitor ‘Do-It-All’ screens as they allow you to watch Netflix, YouTube, Apple TV and other OTT apps without having to connect it
Sony Bravia X80J series of TVs has been launched in India and it includes smart TVs ranging from 43-inch to 75-inch. For now, Sony has only made the 65-inch model available in India and the rest will be announced soon. The Sony Bravia X80J series comes with 4K HDR displays, Apple HomeKit support, and Dolby
Apple has been a laggard in the smart-home space, but a versatile new device in early development could change that. The company is working on a product that would combine an Apple TV set-top box with a HomePod speaker and include a camera for video conferencing through a connected TV and other smart-home functions, according to
Google Play Movies & TV app will no longer be available on certain devices come June 15, 2021. Instead, Google announced that any movie or TV shows purchased or rented through the Play Movies & TV service will still be available through the YouTube app, which is also where users will be able to browser,
Among the types of display panels commonly available for TVs, OLED sits at the top of the hierarchy, thanks to this technology’s ability to reproduce excellent colours, contrast, and black levels. Naturally, this also means that OLED TVs are expensive, and so far they have only been commonly available in sizes of 55 inches or
Toshiba’s president Nobuaki Kurumatani has resigned, the firm announced Wednesday, as a buyout offer from a private equity fund reportedly stirs turmoil inside the Japanese company. The resignation came as reports said two other funds were considering their own offers for the Japanese household name, potentially setting up a bidding war. In a statement, Toshiba
Mi QLED TV 4K 75-inch television from Xiaomi India launch has been confirmed for April 23. This television will be Xiaomi’s largest Smart TV in the country yet, and will likely also be its most expensive television offering since introducing its TV range in India in 2018. Like with phones, Xiaomi now has both Mi TVs
Samsung Neo QLED TV lineup has been launched in India. The new range of smart TVs by the South Korean company comes with all-new display panels that are backed by Quantum Mini-LED light source and Neo Quantum Processors. Samsung Neo QLED TVs also come in 8K and 4K variants as well as have five different
Sony 32W830 Smart Android LED TV has been launched in India, priced at Rs. 31,900. The television is among the most feature-rich in the 32-inch segment in India, with Android TV software, support for Google Assistant, and HDR support for the HDR10 and HLG formats, but it doesn’t come cheap. The 32-inch TV from Sony
Mi TV EA 2022 series has been launched in China by Xiaomi. The range includes TVs in seven sizes – 32-inch, 40-inch, 43-inch, 50-inch, 55-inch, 65-inch, and 75-inch. The design of all the TV models is the same with really thin bezels, but their features and specifications differ. The Mi TV EA 2022 range features
In his final annual letter to shareholders as CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos has outlined what the company needs to focus on in the future as well as some lessons to learn from the past. Bezos, the world’s richest man, urged shareholders to be original, creative, and empathetic towards employees, third-party sellers, and consumers. The
Pakistan has temporarily suspended the services of social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and WhatsApp to stop their use to organise demonstrations following violent protests by a radical religious group that has now been banned by the government. The government banned Tehreek-i-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) on Thursday following three days of violent protest by it to
Cred’s viral ad starring Rahul Dravid as Indiranagar ka gunda has become a full meme, with other brands now spoofing it, including a funny ad by Gurugram-based rewards platform Magicpin. In the MagicPin version, actor Vijay Raaz makes fun of “bread”, and talks about how other apps give lakhs of points, but people are clueless