India News, Latest & Breaking India News, Live India News

1. Realme 2 With Display Notch, 4230mAh Battery Launched in India, First Sale on September 4

• 3 GB RAM | 32 GB ROM | Expandable Upto 256 GB
• 6.2 inch HD+ Display
• 13MP + 2MP Dual Rear Camera | 8MP Front Camera
• 4230 mAh Li-ion Battery
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 Octa Core 1.8 GHz Processor
• Notch Full Screen Display
• Finger Print and Face Unlock
• Triple Slot ( Dual Active 4G Sims + Dedicated Memory)

2.10.or D2 

   10.or D2 smartphone was launched in August 2018. The phone comes with a 5.45-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 720 pixels by 1440 pixels. 10.or D2 price in India starts from Rs. 6,999.

   The 10.or D2 is powered by 1.4GHz quad-core processor and it comes with 3GB of RAM. The phone packs 32GB of internal storage that can be expanded up to 128GB via a microSD card. As far as the cameras are concerned, the 10.or D2 packs a 13-megapixel (f/2.0) primary camera on the rear and a 5-megapixel front shooter for selfies.

   The 10.or D2 is powered by a 3200mAh non removable battery. It measures 147.70 x 70.50 x 8.60 (height x width x thickness) and weighs 144.00 grams.

   The 10.or D2 is a dual SIM (GSM and GSM) smartphone that accepts Nano-SIM and Nano-SIM. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, USB OTG, Micro-USB, FM, 3G and 4G (with support for Band 40 used by some LTE networks in India). Sensors on the phone include Compass/ Magnetometer, Proximity sensor, Accelerometer, Ambient light sensor and Gyroscope.

3. Xiaomi Poco F1 With Snapdragon 845 Launched in India, Price Starts at Rs. 20,999

                            Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 845 
                            Flagship processor with AIE 845

POCO F1 runs on the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 845 mobile platform, meaning you get Snapdragon's powerful AI engine on their most advanced flagship 10nm class chip. Enjoy unbeatable performance and lower power consumption.

AIE 845

300% increase in AI performance compared to 835

10nm process

Octa-core Kryo™ 385 CPU architecture

Adreno™ 630

30% improved GPU performance over Adreno 540

Up to 8GB + 256GB

LPDDR4x RAM, UFS2.1 flash

                                     LiquidCool Technology
                                 Sustained peak performance

Keep the CPU of POCO F1 fast and cool with our LiquidCool Technology, usually reserved for hardcore gaming smartphones.No matter how intensely you're gaming, the cooled Snapdragon 845 has no problem keeping up its peak performance andhigh frequency output. Say goodbye to slow response time and frozen screens, this phone stays faster than fast.

                      Full Day charge with 4000 mAh battery
                                  with Quick Charge 3.0

The 4000mAh (typ) high-capacity battery has the endurance to keep your phone going as you game, watch videos, snap pictures and more without a second thought. It provides enough power for 30 hours of calling or 146 hours of audio playback on a single charge.* Supports Quick Charge 3.0. Drained battery? No problem. Fast charging rapidly replenishes power.

                     AI Dual camera with dual pixel autofocus 
                    Instant autofocus even in dark environments

The 12MP + 5MP AI dual camera features dual pixel autofocus and a large 1.4μm pixel sensor in the primary lens, enhancing photo brightness, clarity and quality while drastically improving autofocus speed, especially while in motion or in low-light conditions.

4. UPI 2.0 now official:

 UPI 2.0, an upgraded version of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)’s Unified Payment Interface, has been announced with several new features. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel formally launched UPI 2.0 in the presence of select members from banks and the NPCI in Mumbai today.

UPI 2.0 let’s customers link their overdraft (OD) account with UPI. With the initial version of UPI, customers could only connect their saving and current accounts to the payment interface. The upgraded UPI 2.0 allows scheduling payment transfers at a later date. For this feature to work, pre-authorisation over transaction is required.

Customers can now receive invoices from merchants directly in the inbox to verify the authenticity of credentials. It will also let users verify UPI credentials using a QR code.

5. Kerala floods: Google Person Finder, Facebook Safety Check activated, here’s how to use

Google’s Person Finder tool to track missing people has been rolled out for the Kerala floods. The death toll in Kerala has risen to 94 and hundreds of people are stranded in flooded areas, especially in and around Aluva and Pathanamthitta-Chengannur areas. The Person Finder tool can be logged in from desktop or mobile to help find people as well as provide information about missing persons on the site.

Google’s Person Finder data is available to the public, so users can simply enter the name of the person they are searching. Google will show all available records matching that person’s name, and also address (where it is available). People can create a new record as well. In case people want to give information about someone missing, they can enter the person’s given and family names.

6. Vivo X23 could come with in-display fingerprint scanner, 3D facial recognition

 

Vivo X23, the successor to X21, is speculated to launch on August 23.Vivo X23 could feature a 6.4-inch fullscreen display and a small Oppo F9-like notch on top of the display.Vivo X23 will be powered by the Snapdragon 670 processor, coupled with 8GB RAM. An advanced 3D facial recognition setup for unlocking the phone is also expected on the X23. Other features expected include, an “independent” audio DAC. The live images were spotted by ITHome, which claims that telephoto lens on the rear camera will support 3x zoom.

U.S. News - The latest headlines from across the United States

1. Group Uses New Technology to Track Salamanders

   LOUDONVILLE, Ohio (AP) — The group scanned the river, searching for signs of the slimy, dirt-colored salamanders from its muddy banks.

    RELATED CONTENT
    UNITED STATES - 1999/01/01: USA, Kansas, Manhattan, Konza Prairie Research Natural Area, Landscape. (Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Topeka Company Works to Rebuild the Kansas Prairie
To actually see an elusive Eastern hellbender salamander, though, they'd have to flip the large, flat boulders that shield their underwater living spaces and plunge into the murky water of the Mohican River.

   The process is labor-intensive and unlikely to yield results in areas where the state-endangered salamanders haven't been spotted before.

   But a new tool that tests water for tiny traces of animal DNA can help researchers figure out if they're on the right track before they begin searching. The emerging science is called environmental DNA, or "eDNA" for short. Earlier this month, a team from The Wilds piloted a new kind of equipment that transforms a smartphone into an on-site eDNA detector to determine if a particular animal has recently been living in a waterway.


   The Wilds folks will compare results with traditional lab tests conducted on larger, more complex equipment to see if they're similar and to verify the accuracy of the new methodology. They're testing multiple sites this month in the Muskingum River watershed.

   "It's cool, real-time technology for folks who maybe don't have a lab, or who have a narrow time frame to evaluate multiple sites," said Stephen Spear, director of wildlife ecology at The Wilds. "If they get a positive test, they can get right in the river and go do it."

   While water samples are mostly tested for eDNA in labs, it can be challenging when those labs are located far from the bodies of water being examined.

   That's the case for The Wilds, a 10,000-acre wildlife conservation center that the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium operates about 70 miles southeast of Columbus. Zoo staff members and other wildlife activists across Ohio have released hundreds of hand-reared hellbender salamanders into the state's waterways since 2012, hoping to reintroduce the species in areas where human impact has reduced their populations to near-extinction.

   But surveying past or potential release sites requires some planning, especially when time and heat can degrade DNA before it gets back to their lab.

   The "two3" technology tested recently could eliminate those obstacles. Biomeme, a Philadelphia-based company, makes the device, a one-pound box that attaches to a smartphone, which acts as an interface to run the test and send results to a digital storage cloud.

2. California Bill Limits Drinks Offered in Kids Meals

The bill restricts restaurants to offering only water and unflavored milk with kids meals

A BILL AIMING TO LIMIT what beverages restaurants can offer with children's meals has passed the California Assembly and is headed to Gov. Jerry Brown's desk.

Senate Bill 1192 would restrict restaurants to only offering water and unflavored milk with children's meals. However, it wouldn't prohibit children or their parents from ordering alternatives, such as soda or juice. According to The Hill, if Brown signs the bill into law, California will be the first state to have such a measure on the books.

The bill was introduced in response to a rise in obesity, which, according to the legislation, increased 250 percent in the state from 1990 to 2016. Lawmakers are hoping the provisions in the bill will address obesity and obesity-related medical conditions, such as diabetes, which "have serious economic costs."

"Many families lack adequate time to obtain and prepare healthy food, making dining out an appealing and often necessary option. As a result, more than one-half of food expenditures in the United States are spent outside the home," the bill states. "Nationwide, American children eat 25 percent of their calories at fast food and other restaurants. Children consume almost twice as many calories when they eat a meal at a restaurant as they do when they eat at home."

Senate Bill 1192 states that any restaurant offering a children's meal must offer water, sparkling water or flavored water with no added natural or artificial sweeteners, unflavored milk and a non-dairy alternative that is no more than 130 calories as the standard drink option.

The bill was overwhelmingly approved 32 to 7 in the California Senate in May and passed the Assembly 46 to 26. 

3. Can Twitter change its 'core' and remain  Twitter?

NEW YORK - After long resisting change, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey wants to revamp the "core" of the service to fight rampant abuse and misinformation. But it's not clear if changing that essence — how it rewards interactions and values popularity — would even work.

Though Dorsey was scant on details, what is certain is that the move will require huge investments for a company that doesn't have the same resources that Google and Facebook have to throw at the problem. Any change is likely to affect how users engage with Twitter and hurt revenue, testing the patience of both users and investors.

"Social networks have a history of ... well-intentioned but badly designed efforts to fix this," said Nate Elliott, principal at marketing research firm Nineteen Insights.

Twitter isn't alone in having to deal with hate, abuse, misinformation and bad actors using the service for elections interference, targeted harassment and scams. And Twitter isn't alone in proposing fixes that don't get to the heart of the problems.

Case in point: Facebook. After Russian trolls were found to have used Facebook to interfere with the 2016 U.S. elections, including by purchasing ads, the company spent a lot of time and energy building a tool that shows who's behind political advertisements. But Elliott said it's not even clear which ads on Facebook are the ones causing problems around foreign elections meddling. In 2016, Russian agents weren't so much running political ads for or against candidates but rather social ads on divisive such as gun control and immigration.

But like Facebook, Twitter has to try — or at least be seen as trying.

Dorsey told The Washington Post that Twitter had not considered changing the core of the service until now. Like Facebook and others, Twitter has been accused of tinkering around the edges, tweaking policies and hiring masses of moderators when what's really needed is a fundamental shift in how they work and how they make money in order to survive. While many former executives and other insiders have proposed radical shifts at major social networks, it's rare for a sitting CEO to propose something as drastic as revisiting the foundation that his company is built on.

"We often turn to policy to fix a lot of these issues, but I think that is only treating surface-level symptoms that we are seeing," Dorsey said.

Twitter confirmed Dorsey's comments to the Post, but declined further comment.

Revamping the core could mean changing the engagement and rewards designed to keep users coming back — in the form of seeing their tweets liked, responded to and retweeted, and seeing their follower counts grow. It's the tiny dopamine hits we get with each like that makes us feel better and keeps us returning for more. Take that away, and users might not want to return. In turn, advertisers might stay away, too, as they rely on monthly and daily user numbers, as well as user interactions, to gauge how well their ads work and how much to spend.

Unlike Facebook, Elliott said, Twitter doesn't have billions of users to absorb any hits on user growth. Even if the changes work, he said, "it's going to cost them so many users and so much money I can't imagine them sticking with these kinds of changes."

Paul Verna, an analyst with research firm eMarketer, also isn't "terribly optimistic" that Twitter can make its service safer without hurting its business. The same goes for Facebook, and YouTube.

"Because they rely on an advertising business model, they need to not only continue to reach audiences, but try to get them to spend as much time on platforms as possible," he said. "That creates an inherent tension between your business needs and being a good citizen."

That said, Twitter may not have to reinvent itself completely to improve. Elliott said better policies might go a long way toward reducing the abuse. For example, it's currently OK to harass someone on Twitter, as long as it's not harassment based on certain categories such as gender and sexual orientation. Elliott said Twitter may just need to prohibit all harassment.

4. AI Fueling Next Wave of 3D Printing and          Robotics

The rise of 3D printing as a game-changing technology over the past decade has often been marked by some pretty grandiose plans, with talk of printing aircraft, boats, buildings, even entire cities. Those large-scale applications are still in the works, of course — you could have a 3D-printed superyacht by 2030, or drive the world’s first artificial intelligence-engineered car — but some of the most intriguing innovations in 3D printing these days are going small, often fueled by AI and machine learning.

Applying the same deep learning techniques that have led to great strides in improving speech recognition, image analysis, language translation and any number of gaming triumphs, with AI’s skills at processing vast amounts of data and recognizing patterns, could expand the field of 3D-printed designs to innovative robotics and medical applications, among other uses. Combined with 3D printing’s own innovations, AI and machine learning could create whole new avenues for relatively inexpensive, effective and on-demand devices.

Many of these innovations are starting small — flexible, but strong little robots that scurry across the floor like The Hand, devices powered by nothing more than a little light, and others that draw on the power of a popular movie snack. And while what the tiny devices can do on their own is impressive, the research going into them could open new doors for medical devices and robotics with broad applications.

5. Texas Shrimp Farmers Try New Technology to Prevent Disease

 This July 18, 2018 photo, shows a salt water tank used to grow shrimp at NaturalShrimp Inc.'s Lacoste facility, in Lacoste, Texas. The company has created technology that will allow for multiple inland shrimp farms and allow the company to become a major supplier of sustainable shrimp as the global population grows and oceans continue to be over-fished. (Josie Norris/The San Antonio Express-News via AP) The Associated Press

6. Nvidia (NVDA) Guidance Miss Is Buying Opportunity

Nvidia Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA) investors aren’t used to disappointing earnings reports. However, NVDA stock dropped 4 percent Friday morning after a guidance miss on Thursday afternoon, but analysts say there’s still plenty to love about Nvidia.

NVDA earnings by the numbers. Nvidia reported second-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $1.76 on revenue of $3.12 billion. Both numbers topped consensus expectations of $1.66 and $3.10 billion, respectively. Revenue was up 40 percent from a year ago.

Gross margin in the second quarter was 63.5 percent, down from 64.7 percent in the first quarter.

By segment, NVDA reported gaming revenue of $1.80 billion, ahead of analyst expectations of $1.75 billion. Data center revenue was $760 million compared to analyst expectations of $744 million. Professional visualization revenue was $281 million, above the $257 million consensus forecast. Nvidia’s automotive segment generated $161 million in revenue, above the $148 million consensus estimate.

The only major weakness in the quarter came from original equipment manufacturers and intellectual property, which includes Nvidia’s cryptocurrency mining products. Revenue was down 70 percent from a year ago to $116 million, well short of consensus estimates of $188 million.

7. Beyond the Wrist: Rethinking Wearable Technology for Mental Health

YOU MAY NOT REMEMBER 2014 as a particularly revolutionary year, but in the digital world, it was. At the annual Consumer Electronics Show that year, the smartwatch made its breakthrough, to the extent that there was a special Wrist Revolution section showcasing watches with the power and capacity of smartphones. A year later, Apple released the Apple Watch, which quickly became the market leader.

Since then so-called wearable technology for the wrist, including watches and fitness bands, has, well, grabbed Americans by the wrist. According to a 2016 essay in PLOS Medicine, 1 in 6 U.S. consumers used wearable technology, and it predicted that 110 million fitness devices were likely to be sold in 2018.

Indeed, the tech doctor has moved well beyond the wrist. Wearable devices that are able to track a growing number of medically important vital signs, risk factors and personal habits can be found in clothing, jewelry and monitors affixed to the skin. Even smartphones can track such information, and while not technically a "wearable," it's hard to find anyone who doesn't have a smartphone in his or her pocket, purse or hand nearly every waking hour of the day and on the nightstand every sleeping hour of the night.

Tracking Important Health Data

The data from wearable devices is being used to help physicians treat patients with a number of diseases, including mental illness. In one of many examples, researchers looked at people with serious mental illness, including schizophrenia spectrum and mood disorders. This population tends to be less physically active than the general population, and increased activity has been shown to improve symptoms of the diseases. The researchers enrolled participants with serious mental illness in a six-month intervention; some were given a Fitbit activity tracking device and smartphone to use. Those participants said the devices helped encourage them to be more physically active and reach daily step goals by allowing them to self-monitor their activity.

UK News | Breaking News UK and UK Newspaper content

1. Final preparations are made for HMS Queen Elizabeth to set sail for the US, in pictures

The Royal Navy's aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth is to set sail for the US where it will land fighter jets on its flight deck for the first time. The landmark moment will come eight years since a fast jet last flew from a British aircraft carrier. The 65,000-tonne carrier is expected to leave Portsmouth Naval Base at about 6pm on  Saturday. During its trip to North America, the warship will embark two US F-35B test aircraft based at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, which are expected to carry out 500 landings and take-offs during the carrier's 11 weeks at sea.



2. Body scanners to screen LA subway riders

Body scanners will be used on the Los Angeles subway to screen passengers for explosives and weapons, the local transport authority has announced.

It is the first mass transport system in the US to adopt the technology.

Portable scanners will be used to screen passengers as they enter stations, without them having to pass through a security checkpoint.
Authorities said the screening would be "voluntary", but those refusing a scan will not be allowed to travel.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) said it had ordered equipment from UK manufacturer Thruvision. 

The company's equipment is not currently used on UK public transport, but it has been trialled at the Farnborough Airshow.
The scanners have a wide field of view and can screen passengers as they ride an escalator or enter through ticket barriers.
The company says its scanners can detect suspicious items from up to 32ft (10m) away, and can scan more than 2,000 passengers an hour.

However, it will be used on a pop-up basis rather than permanently installed at specific stations in LA.


3. Motorola phone 'brazen copy' of iPhone X

Smartphone brand Motorola has been criticised for revealing a "shameless" copy of the iPhone X as its new model.

Many phone-makers have copied the look of the iPhone X, which has a smaller bezel around the screen and a "notch" at the top that houses a camera.

However, reviewers said the new Motorola P30 was a "brazen" and "egregious" rip-off of Apple's flagship device.
Commenting on the similarity between the Motorola P30 and the iPhone X, technology blogger Marques Brownlee called it the "most shameless rip yet".


4. Google employees criticise 'censored China search engine'

Hundreds of Google employees have written to the company to protest against plans to launch a "censored search engine" in China. 

They said the project raised "urgent moral and ethical questions" and urged the firm to be more transparent.

"Currently we do not have the information required to make ethically-informed decisions about our work," they added. 

Google, which has never spoken publicly about the plans, declined to comment.

Google 'plans censored China search engine'
Google 'to end Pentagon AI project'

The firm, which is owned by Alphabet, quit China eight years ago in protest at the country's censorship laws and alleged government hacks.

However, reports last month claimed it had been secretively working on a new Chinese search service, referred to internally as Dragonfly.

The platform, which still requires Chinese government approval, would block certain websites and search terms like human rights and religion.

This has angered some employees who fear they have been unwittingly working on technology that will help China suppress free expression.



5.Cockroach ‘bots’ and rugged delivery drones wow at U.K.’s biggest air show 

LONDON, / CHICAGO – Boffins at U.K. engineering giant Rolls-Royce proudly displayed an array of miniature robots at this year’s Farnborough air show, best known as a major marketplace for passenger planes but also a test bed for the aviation industry’s wilder imaginings.

Designed to speed up engine overhauls, the manufacturer’s tiny cockroach-like drones would remove the need for power plants to be detached from aircraft during maintenance work.

The “swarming” bots, less than half an inch across, are designed to roam engine turbines in gangs, beaming pictures back to inspection crews after being deposited by so-called “snake” hosts that work their way through the engine.

If the bots don’t get you the drones will. The biannual air show was awash with unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, ranging from delivery craft that guarantee to gently deposit a parcel by your door to the latest military types intent on blowing stuff up.

The Black Swan from Bulgarian brothers Svilen and Konstantin Rangelov stood out for bringing a touch of eco-cool to the sector. Pitched as a sort of anti-Amazon drone better suited to emerging economies, the gasoline-powered model uses a glider-like wing to carry 770-pound payloads over more than 1,500 miles before landing on the short, unpaved runways common in Africa and other developing nations.

The industry is also forging ahead with plans for pilot-less planes. Experts will tell you it’s easier to fully automate an aircraft than a car (the chances of a collision while in motion are certainly smaller), but companies are hedging their bets and developing freight variants before trying to persuade passengers of that argument.

Boeing indicated that unmanned cargo craft will be a priority for NeXt, a new organization formed to develop futuristic and disruptive products. On show at Farnborough was a rotorcraft model of the kind the company says could be buzzing over congested city streets within years — not decades.

It was hard to find a major aerospace manufacturer that wasn’t touting a flying cab. Airbus and Boeing already have well-advanced plans but Rolls-Royce crashed the party with a plan to leverage vertical-thrust technology that dates back to the original Harrier jump-jet and the “flying bedstead” that wowed Farnborough crowds in 1950s.

Luxury car-maker Aston Martin sought to get in on the act with a three-seat, hybrid-electric, vertical take-off and landing aircraft that it hopes might appeal to the next generation of millionaire enthusiasts. Since the company’s autos aren’t actually capable of flight, Aston wisely said it will team up with Rolls (of jet-engine fame, not Aston’s carmaking rival) and experts from the U.K.’s Cranfield aeronautics university to get the project off the ground.

The race was hotting up between three companies seeking to channel the spirit of Concorde and reverse the untimely demise of supersonic passenger travel.

Fault lines between them have become clear. Texas-based Aerion is pitching an eight-to-12-passenger model that’s essentially a faster (Mach 1.4) version of today’s business jets. Boom Technology of Denver is pushing a jetliner-sized, delta-winged 55-seater it says would reach Mach 2.2. Spike Aerospace of Boston is targeting a Mach 1.6 plane sized somewhere between the other two.

Boom has signed up airline customers but delayed the flight of a prototype by a year at Farnborough, while Spike’s demonstrator model is subsonic. Aerion reckons it’s further down the line, having secured an engine partnership with General Electric and an accord that could see Lockheed Martin build its plane.

The show’s biggest splash came not in the commercial sector but the military one, with the U.K. unveiling the Tempest fighter mock-up developed by BAE Systems and partners.

The U.K. hasn’t developed a combat jet without France or Germany since the 1960s, and defense experts lined up to suggest the program would be merged with one underway across the English Channel once the Brexit dust has settled.

But the plane certainly looked the part — a large, twin-engine design resembling Lockheed Martin’s F-22 — and the accompanying blurb suggested a production version would feature a virtual cockpit projected onto the pilot’s visor and futuristic-sounding laser-directed energy weapons. The jet could be manned or unmanned, and would operate with a squadron of drone wingmen.

China News Headlines, Latest China News and Live Updates

1. AutoNavi, Delphi Reach Deal

    AutoNavi and Delphi announced a strategic deal to jointly promote app development of interconnected infotainment systems and automatic driving technologies in the Chinese market.

    The strategic cooperation is non-exclusive and financial terms were not released. The cooperation will cover big data, navigation and travel services, and automatic driving technologies.

    In big data and navigation and travel services sectors, the two parties will implement infotainment system and IT-related service innovations targeting the Chinese market. Relying on AutoNavi's real-time traffic information and location-based online maps, Delphi will provide route planning services and online point of interest search services in its infotainment system and navigation system.

    In addition, Delphi will integrate AutoNavi's online content service to provide online payment service and online streaming media services in its interconnected infotainment system.

    For automatic driving, the two companies will implement in-depth cooperation based on automatic driving map data, related software capacities, and cloud computing capacities. They will offer cloud-based automatic driving service in the Chinese market to meet demands of users. AutoNavi will provide a high-precision positioning technology for the future automatic driving project of the two parties.

2. Hisense's Net Profit Down 47.39% In First Three Quarters Of 2017

    China's TV maker Hisense recently published its financial report for the third quarter of 2017 and showed profitability has gone down.

    From January to September 2017, the company's operating revenue was CNY23.746 billion, a year-on-year increase of 7.57%. Its net profit attributable to shareholders was CNY600 million, a year-on-year decrease of 47.39%; and its earning per share was CNY0.46.

    Hisense's operating revenue for audio-visual equipment saw an average decline of 12.24% during the first three quarters of 2017; while its related net profit saw an average decrease of 42.77%.

    Commenting on the net profit decline, Hisense's representative said that it was attributed to the increase of material costs. To respond to the net profit decline, the company will make adjustments in the future, but the specific adjustments will be based on the future material price changes.

    Hisense specializes in the research, development, manufacturing and sale of televisions, digital television broadcasting equipment, refrigerators, and information network terminal products.

3. Makers of mobile games head abroad 

China’s booming mobile games sector is gaining traction in overseas markets, as game developers seek to make massive gains with rising mobile internet usage and demographic advantages, according to a report released by App Annie.

The mobile analytics company said on 30 July that Chinese mobile game publishers saw a significant rise, of more than 40 per cent year-on-year, in overseas revenues from Apple’s iOS App Store and Google Play Store during the first half of 2018, hitting $2.6bn (£2bn).

Gaming app publishers reported 1.5 billion overseas downloads via Google Play and iOS App Store in the first half of this year, compared with 1.1 billion in the same period last year, according to App Annie’s data.

4. China’s tech giants have gone from startup killers to partners

It’s no secret that China’s tech behemoths like Alibaba and Tencent are spending millions in a race to dominate artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, a generation of emerging AI startups are nipping on the giants’ heels with skyrocketing valuations and cutting-edge tech.

This dynamic has put both camps in an awkward relationship as each side covets something valuable in the other.

One of China’s rising AI stars is Rokid, a four-year-old startup last valued at US$450 million. The company is headquartered inside a lush wetland park in Hangzhou – the historic city that Alibaba calls home – and is known for its voice assistant and smart speakers. 

Virtually all of China’s tech titans, such as Alibaba, Baidu, Tencent, JD, and Xiaomi, are churning out voice-controlled gadgets. But Rokid thinks it has carved out a niche that lets it thrive alongside its bigger rivals.

While the major players focus on the mass market, Rokid is zeroing in on higher-end speakers that cost as much as US$770.

.

5. Seafood, fresh milk, adult merchandise: Visiting Alibaba’s Hema supermarket chain

The shopgirl at the sushi counter at the West Beijing Hema Supermarket looked at me with surprise.“You must download our app to shop here,” she said.
“There is no other means of payment.”

I obeyed, logged in to the store’s complimentary wifi network, and waited for the app to load so I could pay the 68 yuan for my six-piece sushi combination.

The truth is, before you download the Hema app, it is hard to fully comprehend what is so special about this Alibaba-owned and -operated supermarket chain. Prior to downloading the app, I was badgering the sales assistants with questions, such as where the milk is sourced from, not understanding why they looked at me funny.
See, at Hema, there is no need to ask an employee. Each product has a QR code that can be scanned using the app to reveal all the information you could possibly be looking for—from the product origin to reviews, recipes, and other products you could be interested in.
It’s just like Alibaba’s online shopping sites.

New retail

The Hema chain is part of a strategy Alibaba founder and chairman Jack Ma calls “new retail,” the merging of online shopping with the brick-and-mortar shopping experience. China is a global ecommerce leader, but only a small percentage of all commerce in the country takes place online. Most Chinese people still prefer shopping in a physical store.

Hema supermarkets are just one example of the way Alibaba is set to change traditional retail by introducing technology.

In March, Alibaba partnered with Ford to offer the new retail take on car shopping. Guangzhou residents who shop for a Ford vehicle through Alibaba’s online store can pick up their car at an automated carpark, where it is then released without human intervention. Customers can then test-drive the car for three days before deciding whether or not to keep it.

Fashion is the next retail category Alibaba is expected to disrupt. In July, Alibaba launched a pop-up fashion store in Hong Kong, in which technology is used to streamline the shopping process. The store is fitted with “smart mirrors,” which clients can use to log in the items they want to try on. The selected items, in the correct color and size, are automatically sent to the fitting rooms. These smart mirrors also present information about the clothing items and suggest complementing pieces.

What makes the chain special?

 

 

Shoppers at Alibaba’s supermarket can see and select their produce, seafood, and meat products, and have them delivered to their homes in 30 minutes or less if they live within 3km from the store. These shoppers can also place their orders online and receive quick and free deliveries from their local Hema branch. Some of the Hema locations—70 of which are expected to open across China by the end of the year—even offer deliveries 24/7.

If you look at the ceiling at a Hema Supermarket, you will see one of the chain’s trademarks—a network of metal tracks moving canvas produce bags like a store-wide conveyor belt. These bags contain goods selected by the stores’ employees based on online orders, on their way to be collected by the delivery team.

But efficiency is not the only highlight of this new chain. Hema emphasizes fresh products from all over the world, and its most popular section is seafood. Here, large tanks host seafood and fish species, which shoppers can opt to “catch” themselves.

Once they are done shopping, many Hema customers don’t even wait to arrive home to eat. Urban-dwelling Chinese, especially the young generation, have nearly abandoned home cooking. Instead, they can have Hema’s large team of cooks prepare the produce for them.

In addition to seafood, one can find a wealth of fresh milk, which is traditionally hard to come by in Beijing. Some Hema branches have an adult section, where people can even shop for sex toys and other R-rated merchandise. Fruits and vegetables all come individually wrapped in plastic.

6. Walmart’s $16b takeover of Flipkart gets regulatory nod

Antitrust regulator approves Walmart-Flipkart deal, but issues warning on discounting practices (India). The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has greenlighted Walmart’s US$16 billion takeover of Flipkart despite opposition from local traders over monopoly concerns. The buyout is the world’s biggest ecommerce deal to date and will give Walmart a 77 percent stake in the Indian startup. Flipkart will gain a post-merger valuation of US$21 billion.

 

Japan - latest news, breaking stories and comment

1.U.K. Royal Navy’s ‘HMS Albion’ Visits Tokyo Port to Enhance East Asia Presence

   The United Kingdom’s Royal Navy’s HMS Albion entered the Port of Tokyo at Harumi boating dock on Friday, August 3. It was the first-ever call at a Tokyo port for the amphibious assault ship, which has been tasked with surveillance missions for the United Nation’s Security Council on the enforcement of sanctions against North Korea.

   The HMS Albion’s presence in Asia is in response to the security circumstances in and around East Asia.

2.Honda employs 1.5GPa-class high-tensile steel plate for N-Van

TOKYO - Honda Motor Co Ltd has used a high-tensile steel plate with a 1.5GPa-class tensile strength for the N-Van commercial light car (van).

This is the first time that Honda has employed a 1.5GPa-class high-tensile steel plate for a light car. The company released the N-Van on July 13.

To make it easier to load/unload packages, Honda eliminated the center pillar on the side of the front passenger's seat. On the other hand, the removal of the center pillar lowers the strength of the body frame, making it difficult to secure safety against side crashes.

For the new vehicle, a 1.5GPa-class high-tensile steel plate (hot-pressed material) was applied to the front and rear door frames on the front passenger's side to play the role of the center pillar. Specifically, the 1.5GPa-class plate is used for the vertical frame between the front door and the sliding rear door.

Moreover, Honda employed a hook mechanism so that (1) the upper and lower parts of the front and rear doors mesh with the body frames and (2) the front door meshes with the rear door. As a result, even when a strong impact is applied to the front and rear doors on the front passenger's side at the time of a side impact, it is possible to prevent the doors from entering the passenger compartment, the company said.

3.Japan Auto Manufacturers, Famous Sake Production Stop Operations Due to Floods

   The heavy rains concentrated in Western Japan also continued to impact businesses.

    Automobile manufacturers are having difficulty procuring parts due to disruption of the transportation network.

    Mazda and Daihatsu Motors decided to stop operations on July 9 at factories in impacted areas, including Kyoto, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, and Oita prefectures.

    Meanwhile, Mitsubishi Motors opted to proceed with operations at its Mizushima factory in Kurashiki city, Okayama Prefecture, and took steps to restart activity.

    Mazda will suspend operations until July 10 in two factories, its head office factory in Fuchu-cho, Hiroshima Prefecture, and the Hofu plant in Hofu city in Yamaguchi Prefecture. Due to the necessity of ensuring employee safety, the company will decide after July 11 on how to proceed.

    The Daihatsu Motors also has four plants in the impacted area, including the Ikeda Plant in Ikeda city, Osaka Prefecture, the Kyoto Plant in Oyamasaki Town, Kyoto Prefecture, the Shiga Second Plant in Ryuo Town, Shiga Prefecture, and the Oita Plant in Nakatsu City, Oita Prefecture. Daihatsu decided to postpone resumption of operations and will re-evaluate the situation on the evening of July 9.

    Equipment maker Kubota’s Amagasaki and Hanshin plants in Hyogo Prefecture were both damaged by floods, stopping some production lines on July 6. However, Kubota plans to resume full operations from July 9.

    Sharp has a manufacturing base for mobile phones in Higashi Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture, where landslides have occurred. The company is monitoring the situation. Due to limited damage, the factory will operate normally from July 9. However, Sharp has declared that it would be necessary to monitor the situation regarding the procurement of parts in order to avoid glitches in the production process.

    Asahi Shuzo Co., Ltd. in Yamaguchi Prefecture, which produces Dassai—a sake brand that is very popular abroad—also halted manufacturing due to heavy rain and flooding which caused damage to its warehouses.  

4. Sony’s catch-up plan to break into pro camera market

Eight seconds — that’s how long a cowboy needs to stay on a bucking bronco to qualify for a rodeo score. For photographers, that’s barely enough time to take just a few blurry, often unusable pictures.

“In the past, these images would have been made by pre-focusing and praying for the best,” said Kenneth Jarecke, who made his name shooting photos during the Gulf War.

His praying days are over. Jarecke is an early adopter of a new breed of mirrorless cameras made by Sony Corp. that excel at capturing crisp shots of fast-moving objects. Unlike digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) cameras, his Sony Alpha a7R III ditches the mirror-and-prism system that shows what’s coming through the lens. The Alpha’s mirrorless design lets image sensors grab light faster and stay in focus using sophisticated software. It’s potentially a tectonic shift that gives Sony a chance to break the pro-photography duopoly Canon Inc. and Nikon Corp. have enjoyed since the days of 35mm film.

This isn’t the industry’s first major upheaval. Two decades ago, digital photography decimated manufacturers who stuck stubbornly to film. In the past 10 years, smartphones with increasingly better cameras began to eat into digital camera shipments, slashing sales by more than 80 percent. Cameras for pros, such as Nikon’s $6,500 D5 and Canon’s $5,500 1D Mark II, were considered unassailable — until now.

At stake is a market worth $3.2 billion a year. Although it’s a niche industry with just a fraction of total camera (and smartphone) sales, Canon, Nikon and Sony benefit from the branding (and sales) boost that comes with being the main suppliers of high-end cameras and lenses for sports, news and the arts. “Sony is now in a position to try and grab more market share,” said Kazunori Ito, an analyst at Morningstar Investment Services.

Sony’s incursion into professional photography didn’t happen overnight. It began with the early development of image sensors decades ago. In the 90s, CyberShot cameras were marketed as easy-to-use devices that fit into consumers’ pockets. Later, smartphone-makers came calling, making Sony the top supplier of camera chips for Apple and other manufacturers.

Then, in 2006, Sony bought Konica Minolta’s camera business — an unusual move for a company that prided itself on its engineering chops. While the first Alpha was essentially a rebadged Konica Minolta DSLR, the products evolved rapidly. Eight years ago, Sony scrapped the mirror and gave users a digital viewfinder that offered a more accurate representation of the final image. With fewer parts and a more efficient design the Alphas are also smaller and lighter, a key selling point for those who lug them around all day.

“The a9 is really revolutionary,” said Michael Kooren, a news agency photographer who switched to Sony Alphas after shooting with Canon for 26 years.

Even so, adoption has been slow. Pro shooters are a loyal bunch, sticking to familiar gear with proven reliability. They also make substantial investments in what they call glass, the assortment of interchangeable lenses that easily cost more than the camera body. Some pros say Sony hasn’t rolled out new lenses fast enough, and have complained that customer support has lagged behind Canon and Nikon. Sony is working to improve both, according to Hiroyuki Matsushita, the manager overseeing product planning at the firm’s cameras division. “We were aware from the beginning that this would be for pros,” he said.

And the incumbents aren’t sitting still. Nikon is working on its first full-frame mirrorless camera, with more details of the device due to be announced on Aug. 23.

Canon hasn’t disclosed any concrete plans; they’re “within the scope of development,” a company spokesman said. “The hurdle for Sony is still high,” said Tomonori Igari, an editor at Asahi Camera. “It depends on how much they commit to creating a support structure, and also on Nikon and Canon’s mirrorless strategy.”

For the time being, Sony intends to exploit its lead. The Tokyo-based manufacturer has begun marketing Alpha cameras more aggressively. Its flagship $4,500 a9 model recently took top prizes at three professional camera competitions. The company also offers more affordable Alpha versions for amateurs and semi-pros. Sony forecasts that operating profit will climb as much as 40 percent to almost $1 billion for the business within three years.

If Sony succeeds in making mirrorless cameras the industry standard, expect news conferences to become a lot quieter — without the shh-cluck shutter sounds made by DSLRs. That’s already made them popular among pro photographers at golf tournaments and courtrooms. The scuttlebutt among shooters in Japan is that noisy cameras will be banned from Emperor Akihito’s abdication ceremony in April, which effectively means it’s possible only Sony Alphas will be allowed in the room; An Imperial endorsement, if ever there was one.