Here's a quick look at what made news in the world of technology in the week just gone by...
Google launches Android One smartphones in India
Google has unveiled its first set of Android One low-cost smartphones in the Indian market, partnering with Indian hardware vendors Spice, Micromax and Karbonn, priced between Rs 6,299 and Rs 6,499. The three phones will be available online on Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal and via Reliance Digital, Croma and The Mobile Store, offline.
Apple rolls out iOS 8
Apple released iOS 8, the latest version of its mobile operating system, worldwide on September 18. The update brings features like interactive notifications; revamped Messages, Safari and Mail apps; Predictive text & support for third-party keyboards; Continuity; widgets in Notifications bar, iCloud Drive; and always-on Siri. For the first look for iOS 8, click here.
HealthKit, the health and fitness data integration service that Apple announced at WWDC conference in June, was not released with iOS 8. Apple said a bug in the platform prevented its release along with other features of the software update.
Apple iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus hit stores
Apple's new big-screen iPhones - iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus - finally hit the market on September 19. In the first wave, the new Apple smartphones will only be available in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore and the UK.
Larry Ellison steps down as Oracle CEO
After serving as the CEO of Oracle for 37 years, multi-billionaire Larry Ellison stepped down from his position on September 19. He will remain executive chairman and chief technology officer of Oracle.
Ellison will be replaced by two co-CEOs, Safra Catz and Mark Hurd, raising questions about a job-sharing arrangement that has had a fraught record elsewhere. Catz has become the highest-paid female executive in the world, in not just the technology world but across all industries.
YouTube videos will soon be available offline in India
In the coming few weeks, much of YouTube is going to be available offline in India, said Caesar Sengupta, vice president, product management at Google. "It will be available by default. Content owners can decide if they want to opt into it," he said, adding that views of the videos and ads will be kept track of offline as well.
SAP to acquire software maker Concur for $8.3 billion
SAP has agreed to acquire US-based expense management software maker Concur Technologies in an all-stock deal valued at $7.3 billion. Including debt, the deal is valued at $8.3 billion. This figure is more than what Microsoft agreed to pay for Nokia's mobile phone business.
Cognizant to buy TriZetto for $2.7 billion
Cognizant surprised markets on September 15 with the acquisition of TriZetto, a healthcare IT software and solutions provider, for $2.7 billion (Rs 16,400 crore) in an all-cash deal. It's the biggest acquisition in the Indian IT space, topping iGate's $1.2-billion buyout of Patni Computer.
Microsoft sends invites for Windows 9 Preview event
Microsoft has sent invites for an event scheduled for September 30, where it is expected to provide a technical preview of its Windows 9 operating system. The event has been billed by the company as a chance to "hear about what's next for Windows and the enterprise."
CEO Satya Nadella, however, will not be attending the event as he will be arriving in India on the same day, his first trip to the country since becoming the Microsoft chief.
Amazon's fulfilment centre under taxman's scanner in India
Amazon's Bangalore-based fulfilment centre has come under the I-T department's scanner in India over what the government agency sees as violations of the country's taxation law.
Amazon India, which is cooperating with Karnataka's tax authorities over the matter, responded to the matter with the following statement: " We understand this to be a case where the laws have not kept pace with the new-age online business models that enable a faster, convenient and nationwide access to customers for sellers, especially small and medium businesses, at significantly low costs."
iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus's NFC chip restricted to Apple Pay
Apple finally embraced NFC (Near Field Communication) technology with the launch of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus after excluding it for nearly seven years. However, it looks like the Cupertino giant has crippled the functionality of the iPhone's NFC chip, restricting it to just Apple Pay, Apple's new mobile payments system.
Therefore, the new iPhones will not work with NFC speakers and tags and also will not transfer files with other smartphones that have NFC chips.
Samsung to stop selling 48 smartphones online
Samsung has bowed to pressure from offline retailers and said that it will not sell 48 of its smartphones online, including the upcoming Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Alpha.
This report comes just a day after IT and telecom products traders' association ADCTA said that its 25,000 members across country will stop supplying goods to e-commerce portals and retailers if they sell any product below the price at which they have originally purchased it.
Microsoft starts cutting jobs, starts with 2,100 people
Microsoft will close its Silicon Valley research and development operations as part of 2,100 layoffs it announced on September 18, as it moves toward its Nadella's goal of cutting 18,000 staff, or about 14% of its workforce.
Adidas enters Indian smartwatch market
Sporting goods maker Adidas has entered the Indian smartwatch market with its miCoach Smart Run. Priced at Rs 24,999, this smartwatch allows users to monitor heart rate, play music and track their runs using GPS mapping. It will be available exclusively on Adidas's website.
Amazon launches new Kindle e-reader in India
Amazon has launched the latest version of its Kindle e-reader, named Kindle Voyage, in India at Rs 5,999. The new model has a touchscreen as well as twice the storage and 20% faster processor than its predecessor. Kindle Voyage is available at amazon.in/kindle and will start shipping starting October 9, 2014.
SanDisk launches SD card at Rs 51,990
SanDisk has launched a 512GB SD card in India that costs a whopping Rs 51,990. Compatible with only cameras, this SD card can write data at 90MB per second, thus making it useful for those who shoot high resolution 4K videos.
Along with this, SanDisk launched a 64GB microSD card that be used in smartphones and can write data at the same 90MB per second. This microSD card is priced at Rs 9,700.
Google launches Android One smartphones in India
Google has unveiled its first set of Android One low-cost smartphones in the Indian market, partnering with Indian hardware vendors Spice, Micromax and Karbonn, priced between Rs 6,299 and Rs 6,499. The three phones will be available online on Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal and via Reliance Digital, Croma and The Mobile Store, offline.
Apple rolls out iOS 8
Apple released iOS 8, the latest version of its mobile operating system, worldwide on September 18. The update brings features like interactive notifications; revamped Messages, Safari and Mail apps; Predictive text & support for third-party keyboards; Continuity; widgets in Notifications bar, iCloud Drive; and always-on Siri. For the first look for iOS 8, click here.
HealthKit, the health and fitness data integration service that Apple announced at WWDC conference in June, was not released with iOS 8. Apple said a bug in the platform prevented its release along with other features of the software update.
Apple iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus hit stores
Apple's new big-screen iPhones - iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus - finally hit the market on September 19. In the first wave, the new Apple smartphones will only be available in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore and the UK.
Larry Ellison steps down as Oracle CEO
After serving as the CEO of Oracle for 37 years, multi-billionaire Larry Ellison stepped down from his position on September 19. He will remain executive chairman and chief technology officer of Oracle.
Ellison will be replaced by two co-CEOs, Safra Catz and Mark Hurd, raising questions about a job-sharing arrangement that has had a fraught record elsewhere. Catz has become the highest-paid female executive in the world, in not just the technology world but across all industries.
YouTube videos will soon be available offline in India
In the coming few weeks, much of YouTube is going to be available offline in India, said Caesar Sengupta, vice president, product management at Google. "It will be available by default. Content owners can decide if they want to opt into it," he said, adding that views of the videos and ads will be kept track of offline as well.
SAP to acquire software maker Concur for $8.3 billion
SAP has agreed to acquire US-based expense management software maker Concur Technologies in an all-stock deal valued at $7.3 billion. Including debt, the deal is valued at $8.3 billion. This figure is more than what Microsoft agreed to pay for Nokia's mobile phone business.
Cognizant to buy TriZetto for $2.7 billion
Cognizant surprised markets on September 15 with the acquisition of TriZetto, a healthcare IT software and solutions provider, for $2.7 billion (Rs 16,400 crore) in an all-cash deal. It's the biggest acquisition in the Indian IT space, topping iGate's $1.2-billion buyout of Patni Computer.
Microsoft sends invites for Windows 9 Preview event
Microsoft has sent invites for an event scheduled for September 30, where it is expected to provide a technical preview of its Windows 9 operating system. The event has been billed by the company as a chance to "hear about what's next for Windows and the enterprise."
CEO Satya Nadella, however, will not be attending the event as he will be arriving in India on the same day, his first trip to the country since becoming the Microsoft chief.
Amazon's fulfilment centre under taxman's scanner in India
Amazon's Bangalore-based fulfilment centre has come under the I-T department's scanner in India over what the government agency sees as violations of the country's taxation law.
Amazon India, which is cooperating with Karnataka's tax authorities over the matter, responded to the matter with the following statement: " We understand this to be a case where the laws have not kept pace with the new-age online business models that enable a faster, convenient and nationwide access to customers for sellers, especially small and medium businesses, at significantly low costs."
iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus's NFC chip restricted to Apple Pay
Apple finally embraced NFC (Near Field Communication) technology with the launch of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus after excluding it for nearly seven years. However, it looks like the Cupertino giant has crippled the functionality of the iPhone's NFC chip, restricting it to just Apple Pay, Apple's new mobile payments system.
Therefore, the new iPhones will not work with NFC speakers and tags and also will not transfer files with other smartphones that have NFC chips.
Samsung to stop selling 48 smartphones online
Samsung has bowed to pressure from offline retailers and said that it will not sell 48 of its smartphones online, including the upcoming Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Alpha.
This report comes just a day after IT and telecom products traders' association ADCTA said that its 25,000 members across country will stop supplying goods to e-commerce portals and retailers if they sell any product below the price at which they have originally purchased it.
Microsoft starts cutting jobs, starts with 2,100 people
Microsoft will close its Silicon Valley research and development operations as part of 2,100 layoffs it announced on September 18, as it moves toward its Nadella's goal of cutting 18,000 staff, or about 14% of its workforce.
Adidas enters Indian smartwatch market
Sporting goods maker Adidas has entered the Indian smartwatch market with its miCoach Smart Run. Priced at Rs 24,999, this smartwatch allows users to monitor heart rate, play music and track their runs using GPS mapping. It will be available exclusively on Adidas's website.
Amazon launches new Kindle e-reader in India
Amazon has launched the latest version of its Kindle e-reader, named Kindle Voyage, in India at Rs 5,999. The new model has a touchscreen as well as twice the storage and 20% faster processor than its predecessor. Kindle Voyage is available at amazon.in/kindle and will start shipping starting October 9, 2014.
SanDisk launches SD card at Rs 51,990
SanDisk has launched a 512GB SD card in India that costs a whopping Rs 51,990. Compatible with only cameras, this SD card can write data at 90MB per second, thus making it useful for those who shoot high resolution 4K videos.
Along with this, SanDisk launched a 64GB microSD card that be used in smartphones and can write data at the same 90MB per second. This microSD card is priced at Rs 9,700.
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