Top 18 Android 8.0 Oreo features you should know शीर्ष 18 एंड्रॉइड 8.0 Oreo फीचर्स आपको पता होना चाहिए

After releasing multiple developer previews of Android O over the past couple of months, Google finally announced that Android O is Android 8.0 Oreo. The update is currently only being rolled out to Google devices like Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Pixel and Pixel XL, however, other manufacturers should start rolling it out to their devices in the next couple of months, with some devices hopefully getting the Android 8.0 Oreo update by the end of this year.

Well, we agree that the Android 8.0 Oreo update isn’t anything revolutionary and doesn’t come with any major design overhaul. However, it does come with many under-the-hood refinements that should enhance your daily experience. Irrespective of whether or not you own any of the aforementioned devices, we are pretty sure you must be interested to know more about this update. Well, here are the top Android 8.0 Oreo features that you should know.

Top Android 8.0 Oreo features

1) Picture-in-Picture (PiP) mode

Google has added native support for Picture-in-Picture (PiP) mode in Android 8.0 Oreo, just like it added native support for Multi-Window in Android 7.0 Nougat.

With PiP mode, Google takes multi-tasking to a new level. With this mode, a user can reduce the size of his video call screen to a small rectangle and move it around the display while also being able to open other apps and do multiple things at once. However, this isn’t restricted to video calls, as you can also minimize the YouTube videos and continue to use other apps at once.

2) Notification Dots

Many custom Android skins from Android smartphone manufacturers come with notification badges which show the number of notifications a certain app has. For example, if you have 10 messages on WhatsApp and 20 emails on Gmail, you will see the WhatsApp and Gmail app icons displaying the number 10 and 20 respectively.

This feature was missing natively from Android until now, however, with Android 8.0 Oreo, Google has introduced it with a difference. Now with Android 8.0 Oreo, whenever any app on your smartphone has a notification, it will display a dot on its app icon. What’s interesting is that these Notification Dots are adaptive, meaning that they will adapt the color based on the color of the app icon.

3) Notification Snoozing

We think this one’s self explanatory. Many a times it happens that we have tons of notifications and we have no time to read and respond to them. Sometimes, out of annoyance, we just clear them all at once only to realize later that some of them were very important.

Image Credit: Android Police

Well, Google comes to the rescue with the introduction of Notification Snoozing on Android 8.0 Oreo. Now whenever you have any notification in the notification shade, instead of swiping it left/right to get rid of it, you can snooze it for either 15 minutes, 30 minutes or 1 hour. For that amount of time, that certain notification won’t show up in the notification shade, however, it will pop back up after the snooze period is over.

4) Autofill Framework

Until now, we have seen autofill in action in Google Chrome and some other browsers which automatically fills in the information in text fields. Well, with Android 8.0 Oreo, user information like email, username and password will be automatically filled inside the apps.

For example, if you open Twitter, and if you have already given the permission to remember your login details, you will just have to tap on the Login button and you will be logged in to the app instantly.

5) Smart Text Selection

We all know how cumbersome it can be to select-copy-paste something on Android, especially if it’s an address that you want to search or a phone number that you want to dial. Well, not anymore, as Google has introduced the Smart Text Selection feature on Android 8.0 Oreo.

Now whenever you select an address or a phone number or a URL from within an app, you will get an option to open a certain app which would perform a certain action based on the information selected. For example, if you select an address, you will see an option to search for it in Google Maps. If it’s a phone number, you will see an option to dial it from the Google Phone app. Same goes for a URL. Pretty handy, isn’t it?

6) Adaptive Icons

If you have owned more than one Android smartphone from different manufacturers, you must have noticed that the app icons appear differently on different smartphones. Sometimes its good, but sometimes, it can be annoying, especially for app developers who have to create different icons for different manufacturers.

Well, to deal with this, Google has introduced Adaptive Icons. Now, developers can create icons that the system displays in different shapes based on a mask selected by the device manufacturer. The system will also animate the interactions with the icons and also use them in the launcher, shortcuts, settings, sharing dialogs and in the overview screen.

7) More control over installing apps from unknown sources

One of our favorite things in Android is the ability to sideload apps. For those unaware, sideloading an app means installing an app on your device that’s not downloaded from Google’s Play Store (termed as Unknown Sources). By default, you aren’t allowed to install apps that are downloaded from unknown sources, however, you can turn that security feature off.

Image Credit: 9to5Google

Once that security feature is turned off, you can install all the apps that are downloaded from unknown sources. This changes with Android 8.0 Oreo. From now onwards, you will have to allow the installation of apps downloaded from unknown sources on per-app basis. Well, we appreciate this change as users often forget to enable the Unknown Sources security feature after they are done sideloading an app.

8) Pinned Shortcuts

Until now, users were able to add widgets to the homescreen of their devices. With Android 8.0 Oreo, users can add shortcuts to their homescreens from within an app.

Not just that, users can also create special activities which they can customize to their liking so as to get things done faster.

9) Customize Lockscreen Shortcuts

You must have noticed shortcuts on the lockscreen on your smartphone. These shortcuts may vary based on manufacturer. Some smartphones have shortcuts to Google Voice Search and Camera app while some have shortcuts to Camera app and Phone dialer. These shortcuts, most of the times, cannot be replaced with any other shortcut.

Image Credit: Android Police

Well, this changes with Android 8.0 Oreo as Google now natively allows changing lockscreen shortcuts. You can access any app or setting you want from the lockscreen now.

10) Customize Navigation Bar

Apart from being able to customize lockscreen shortcuts, users can now also customize the navigation bar on Android 8.0 Oreo. You can now add a button on the left and right side of the original three navigation buttons. Apart from that, you can also adjust the spacing and layout if you want.

Image Credit: Android Police

At this moment, this feature isn’t said to work properly, however, with future updates, you would be able to customize it to your liking to perform different tasks or launch your favorite app.

11) Android Instant Apps

The Android Instant Apps, which were announced last year during Google I/O 2016 conference, now comes integrated with Android 8.0 Oreo. Google has been rolling out the Instant Apps feature to many devices across different parts of the world, including India, however, it’s nice to see that it will come built-in with Android 8.0 Oreo.

The way Instant Apps work is that if you open any link to a service, and if it has its Instant App available, then you will be taken to that Instant App instead of being taken to its web service or having to install its mainstream app from the Play Store.

12) Downloadable Fonts and Emoji

You must have noticed that the fonts in certain apps differ from the font that appears elsewhere in your device. This is because the developers bundle custom fonts with their app which increase the app size. Well, with Android 8.0 Oreo, developers need not do this as they can now load the fonts from a shared library. This would help them reduce the size of their app. The same applies for emoji as well.

13) Project Treble

One of the major complaints about Android is slow software updates. Thanks to fragmentation, Android is marred with slow software updates. However, with Project Treble, Google plans to tackle this issue. Project Treble is a  a modular architecture that makes it easier and faster for hardware makers to deliver Android updates without having to make any modifications to their own implementations.

Hence, all the devices with Android 8.0 Oreo and beyond should get updates faster once released by Google. This is something we have high hopes on.

14) Play Protect

Another major issue that Android faces is malicious apps. Even though Google removes suspicious apps from the Play Store, there are some that manage to creep in to our devices. To deal with this, Google announced Play Protect last month, which has now made its way to Android 8.0 Oreo as well.

Google Play Protect works automatically in the background to scan malicious apps and remove them. Not just that, Play Protect also helps you locate your device if you lose it while also allowing you to lock it or erase the data in it remotely.

15) Redesigned Emoji

Last year, Google brought in some new emoji with Android Nougat. Well, Google continues to do that with Android 8.0 Oreo as well. Google has not only redesigned the emoji on Android 8.0 Oreo, but, it has included over 60 new emoji in this latest version of Android. Time to talk the emoji language now. Isn’t it?

16) Rescue Party

There are many high-end Android devices that have a reputation of going into bootloops which ultimately become a problem for their owners. Sometimes, these bootloops render a device useless, making them nothing more than a paperweight with a screen. Well, Android 8.0 Oreo comes with a feature called Rescue Party that prevents your device from going into a bootloop.

This feature “sends out a “rescue party” when it notices core system components stuck in crash loops. Rescue Party then escalates through a series of actions to recover the device. As a last resort, Rescue Party reboots the device into recovery mode and prompts the user to perform a factory reset.” Well yes, you would loose your data after you factory reset your device, but hey, at least your device won’t turn into a paperweight.

17) System Optimizations and Better Battery Life

With Android 8.0 Oreo, Google has said that users will be able to start tasks quickly. The boot times have also been decreased which means you don’t have to wait longer while your device reboots.

The company has also introduced background limits to prevent your device battery from being overused by apps and drained quickly. Google has put automatic limits on what the apps can do in the background, in terms on location and Wi-Fi scans as well as execution.

18) Wide-gamut color for apps

Developers of imaging apps can now take advantage of the new devices that have a display capable of wide-gamut colors. This can be useful to professionals who rely on their Android devices for editing on the go.

So, these are the top Android 8.0 features that you would be able to get your hands on when the update reaches your device. Which of these features are your favorite? Also, if you think we missed out on any Android 8.0 feature, then do let us know in the comments down below.

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Airtel 4G smartphone reportedly launching in first week of October for under ₹2000

Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Jio disrupted the Indian telecom sector with its entry last year by first offering its services for free to the customers, and then offering them at rates which were deemed “predatory” by the incumbents. Later in July this year, Reliance Jio surprised everyone again with the launch of JioPhone. While other telecom operators were already catching up with Jio’s affordable plans, they are also planning to counter the JioPhone by launching their own 4G phone. And, Airtel, who is one of those operators, is now reported to launch its 4G smartphone in India in the first week of next month.

According to the information received by 91Mobiles from “trusted sources”, Airtel will launch its 4G smartphone in India before Diwali. Well, in the first week of October to be precise. Past reports have suggested that this Airtel 4G smartphone would be priced at ₹2500, however, according to the latest information, it will be priced below ₹2000.

Also, it’s worth noting that while the JioPhone is a feature phone, Airtel’s phone will instead be a 4G smartphone and will come with better specifications which should attract more customers as opposed to JioPhone. However, specs alone may not be enough as it also boils down to how attractive and affordable plans Airtel comes up with for its 4G smartphone. The ones offered by Reliance Jio for JioPhone start from as low as ₹153/month with free voice calls.

Having said that, the source who tipped pricing and launch details of Airtel’s 4G smartphone to 91Mobiles has also confirmed the rumored specs of this smartphone. According to past rumors, the Airtel 4G smartphone will come with a 4-inch display, have quad-core processor which would be paired with 1 GB RAM, and most importantly, it will will run Android 7.0 Nougat which would give more freedom to users over downloading apps. This also means that Airtel 4G smartphone users will be able to use WhatsApp which currently isn’t available on JioPhone.

Airtel 4G smartphone specifications [Expected]

• CPU: Quad-core processor
• RAM: 1 GB
• Operating System: Android 7.0 Nougat (Android Go)
• Display: 4-inch
• Camera: Front and Back
• SIM: Dual SIM
• Other: 4G VoLTE
• Battery: Between 1400 and 1600 mAh

Well, going by these specs, the Airtel 4G smartphone sure looks like an attractive buy for under ₹2000. However, like we said, it also depends on how much attractive plans does Airtel bundle along with this smartphone.

If launched for under ₹2000 with aforementioned specs, would you prefer buying the Airtel 4G smartphone? Or would you rather go for JioPhone? Do share your thoughts in the comments down below.

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YouTube Video Editor, Photos Slideshows to Be Discontinued on September 20

HIGHLIGHTS

• You'll have to download unpublished projects, or risk losing them
• Limited usage is cited as the reason for discontinuation
• The company is suggesting free, paid third-party editors

YouTube on Thursday announced that its Video Editor and Photo slideshows tools are being retired on September 20. Not all editing features are being removed however - creators will still be able to use the Enhancements like trimming, blurring, and filters. The company cites limited usage of the two features as the reason for the discontinuation.

Making the announcement on a Google Product Forum page, Marissa, a community manager, said, "We've seen limited usage of these features, so we're retiring them to focus our efforts on building new tools and improving on other existing features."

Those YouTube creators that still have projects in the Video Editor or Photo slideshow section will need to finalise them before September 20, or they will lose the projects. Those videos already published with Video Editor or Photos slideshows will be unaffected. Those that want to download their videos from the Video Editor will be able to do so in 720p resolution, or, they can use Google Takeout to get them in original quality.

As we mentioned, not all editing is disappearing from the YouTube platform - a boon for amateur users or those that want to make minor adjustments without re-uploading an entire video again. Creators will be able to continue to utilise the Enhancements feature, which can be found in the Video Manager section. Enhancements allows for edits like trimming, blurring, and filters.

Google is pointing to the innumerable free and paid third-party editing tools that creators can utilise in place of its Video Editor and Photos slideshow features. It is pointing to the Creator Community and Creator Hub for more information.

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Reliance Jio vs Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, BSNL, Aircel – The Best Data, Calling Plans You Can Buy Today

Reliance Jio, which claims to be the world's largest mobile data network, continues to bring about paradigm shifts in the Indian telecom market. Just last week, it launched new plans and revised the old plans to offer more data, and is widely expected to launch the rumoured 4G VoLTE-enabled Jio feature phone in a couple of days. With such sweeping changes afoot, telecom operators such as Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular, BSNL, and Aircel have launched several plans with bundled data and calls. We take a quick look at the best data and talk value offers launched by all the major telcos since the Jio Summer Surprise offer was launched.

Reliance Jio

With its launch in September last year, Reliance Jio revealed the Jio Welcome Offer, with free data, calling, SMS, and app services to customers. While the operator claims calling will remain free on its VoLTE network, its promotional launch offer for free data, SMS, and app services was extended for another three-months from January with the Happy New Year offer. Reliance Jio started its paid services in April, and alongside also introduced the three month Jio Summer Surprise offer for customers who purchase the Jio Prime membership - at Rs. 99 - valid until March 2018.

The Jio Summer Surprise offer provides 1GB 4G data per day up to 90 days at Rs. 303 and 2GB 4G data per day up to three months at Rs. 499. Postpaid customers get 60GB of 4G data for the billing cycle, with the FUP set at 2GB per day. However, this offer did not last long - with TRAI ordering Jio to end its complimentary services - and was pulled by Reliance Jio within a few days. As its substitute, the company came up with a similar offer Jio Dhan Dhana Dhan offer for Prime users that offers 1GB data per day up to three months for Rs. 309 and 2GB data per day up to three months at Rs. 509. There's one major difference between the Summer Surprise and Dhan Dhana Dhan offers however - three additional months of complimentary services.

If you were amongst the first people to opt for Jio Prime and make subsequent recharge of Rs. 303 or higher value, you became eligible for the Summer Surprise offer, which gave you complimentary free data, SMS, and app services free for up to three months, after which the Rs. 303 (or higher) recharge value will become effective.

Customers who missed availing the Jio Summer Surprise offer and went for the Jio Dhan Dhana Dhan offer did not get any of the above described services free for the first three months. The value recharges for Rs. 309 and Rs. 509 covered the 1GB per day and 2GB per day up to three months respectively. Post three months, customers will have to make recharges afresh on their Jio numbers to continue services.

Now that the Jio Summer Surprise offer has begun expiring for the early adopters, Jio has launched new plans to ensure customers get the best deals. First off, there's the Rs. 399 pack that Jio Dhan Dhana Dhan offer for another 84 days by providing 1GB data per day, along with all the other services. The other new Jio plan, priced at Rs. 349, provides users with 20GB data for 56 days, with no daily limit on data consumption; however, users will get 10GB data for the first 28 days and the remaining 10GB for the other 28 days with this plan, instead of 20GB together.

The Rs. 309 and Rs. 509 Jio plans now come with 56-day validities, with 1GB and 2GB daily data consumption, respectively. Therefore, users will get more data and more validity at the same price with the revised plans. Similar is the case with the Rs. 999 and Rs. 1,999 plans, which now come with 90 days (90GB) and 120 days (155GB) validity, instead of 60 days (60GB) and 90 days (125GB) earlier, respectively. The Rs. 4,999 and Rs. 9,999 plans with 180-day (350GB) and 360-day (750GB) validities have been upgraded to provide 210-day (380GB) and 390-day (780GB) validities as well.

Airtel

After the announcement of its commercial launch by Reliance Jio in March this year, Airtel came up with data-heavy plans to attract customers. In March, it firstly launched the Rs. 345 plan for prepaid users with 28GB of high-speed data for 28 days. While the daily FUP was set at 1GB per day, customers were able to use only 500MB of data during the day, while the remaining 500MB was allotted for the 12am to 6am period.

In April, Airtel upgraded the Rs. 345 recharge pack to offer double the data to 2GB per day without any restrictions on the timing that was previously offered. For similar customers who did not want any time restriction on the data were offered a new Rs. 549 plan that provided 1GB high-speed data per day for 28 days without the time constraints.

Both the plans offered free local and STD calls as well but with some caveats. Airtel users who made calls beyond the 1,200 bundled minutes were charged at 30p per minute (for local and STD calls). Moreover, Airtel capped the free calls per day at 300 minutes, after which the charges were 30p per minute. Additionally, calling more than 100 unique users in a week entailed call tariff of 30p per minute for the rest of the validity.

While the Rs. 549 plan is still available for users to opt-in, the Rs. 345 plan has been revised to Rs. 349 per month and the daily data cap has been reduced to 1GB. The calling benefits are still the same as the original plans, and the day and night time restriction is no longer applicable in either.

Customers who wanted extra validity with same data benefits were offered two more plans by Airtel. The Rs. 244 recharge pack offered 1GB data per day for a maximum of 70 days, only for 4G handset and SIM card users. The offer came with unlimited STD and local calls, but users could only get a maximum of 300 minutes of free Airtel to Airtel calls per day, and 1,200 minutes of free calls on the network for a week. After the bundled calls were exhausted, the calls were charged Rs. 0.10 per minute.

Another plan with the validity of 70 days was the Rs. 399 pack that offered 1GB data per day on 4G handsets and SIM cards. The primary difference between the Rs. 244 and Rs. 399 plans was that users could make unlimited calls on other networks as well in the latter but with an upper restriction of 3,000 minutes after which the calls were charged at Rs. 0.10 per minute. On-net calls made on Airtel network were capped similar to the Rs. 244 plan with the maximum of free 300 minutes per day and 1,200 minutes per week.

Talking about the Airtel plans available at the time of writing, the company is offering the Rs. 349 pack and Rs. 549 pack with the data benefits similar to what we mentioned above. However, there is a new Rs. 255 plan that comes with full talk value of Rs. 255 along with 2GB 3G/ 4G data for 28 days for prepaid users.

While the above offers were meant for the Airtel prepaid users, the postpaid users were not left behind by the company. Airtel introduced the Airtel Surprise offer for its postpaid users that gave them 30GB of free 4G data up to three months (10GB per month) from March 13. This postpaid data offer was extended towards the end of last month and continues to be available under a new name - Airtel Monsoon Surprise offer. The data benefits are exactly the same and postpaid users can avail them via the MyAirtel app.

Vodafone

Soon after Reliance Jio and Airtel started the tariff war, Vodafone joined in. It launched the Rs. 352 recharge pack that offered 1GB data per day for 56 days, or two recharge cycles of 28 days. Known as the Vodafone Super Offer pack, it additionally provided unlimited local and STD calls for the same validity period.

While the aforementioned pack was for prepaid users, Vodafone offered free data to its RED postpaid users in April this year. The company was offering either 3GB data per month for 12 months (totalling to 36GB) or 9GB data every month for duration of three months (totalling to 27GB).

In a bid to attract existing customers to its SuperNet 4G network, Vodafone in April announced that customers in Mumbai could avail 4GB of 4G data on 4G handsets on upgrading to a 4G SIM card on a 4G handset. It was a one-time offer available for existing Vodafone subscribers after they upgrade across Mumbai. While Vodafone prepaid customers could avail this one-time offer with 4G free data for a period of 10 days, postpaid customers were to receive same 4GB data benefit till the next billing date of their connection.

Vodafone soon started focusing on low validity recharge packs as rivals were busy with data and calling packs with more validity. In May this year, Vodafone announced a Rs. 19 recharge pack that offered one day of validity with 100MB of 4G data and unlimited local and STD calls to Vodafone network only. While celebrating the SuperWeek, Vodafone also launched Rs. 49 and Rs. 89 recharge plans that offered seven days of validity with 250MB of 4G data and unlimited local and STD calls to just Vodafone customers and 250MB of 4G data with same validity, but calls on other networks for free 100 minutes, in addition to unlimited Vodafone local and STD calls, in a respective manner.

After a couple of data and calling plans, Vodafone came back in June with a new recharge plan to mark the occasion of Ramzan in June. However, it was only confined to the northern circles of Uttar Pradesh West and Uttarakhand. With Ramzan Special Pack, 2G and 3G customers could enjoy the unlimited data offer for Rs 5. and Rs. 19, respectively. 2G customers could get unlimited local and STD calls plus unlimited data for Rs. 253. Under the offer, customers also got unlimited local and STD calls plus 1GB data per day for Rs. 345.

Later, the company came up with Rs. 786 recharge pack called the 'Vodafone Ramzan 786 Plan' with benefits varying with different telecom circles. For Assam and North-East circle, the pack offered unlimited voice calling, unlimited national roaming, and 25GB data at Rs. 786 for postpaid users. On the other hand, prepaid subscribers from Rajasthan were offered full talk time and ISD calling to UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia at just Rs. 0.14 per second also at Rs. 786 under the same plan rebranded as 'Vodafone Holy Ramzan Pack'. In addition to this, Rajasthan users were also offered 'Vodafone FRC 445' with unlimited local and national calls, plus 1GB 4G/3G data daily, with a 70 days validity period. Alternately, 'Vodafone FRC 295' provided unlimited Vodafone to Vodafone calls along with 1GB 4G/3G data per day for 70 days.

In June, Vodafone launched the Rs. 29 recharge pack, meant only for data usage in the night between 1am to 6am, that offered unlimited Internet 3G/ 4G data to the users. The company claimed that it roughly translates to Rs. 6 per hour for unlimited Internet to its users for the mentioned timings.

Lastly, Vodafone launched a new offer to include a free Netflix membership for its postpaid users who have subscribed to Vodafone RED plans worth Rs. 1,299 or higher. Depending on the subscription, the validity of the free Netflix membership varies, giving the postpaid users up to one year of the subscription. Additionally, postpaid users get 30GB of free data under the RED 1299 unlimited plan.

Presently, the Vodafone recharge plans listed on the company's website include the Rs. 149 plan and Rs. 349 plan. The Rs. 149 plan offers unlimited local and STD Vodafone calls along with 2GB data (for 4G handset & 4G SIM), 300MB data (only 4G handset), and 50MB data (non-4G handset) for 28 days. The Rs. 349 plan provides unlimited local and STD calls on all networks and landlines along with 50MB of 3G/4G data for 28 days. Customers with 4G handsets will get 1GB data additionally.

Idea Cellular

Idea Cellular also entered the data tariff war, and in March launched the Rs. 297 recharge pack that provided 1GB data per day for 70 days on a 4G SIM and 4G smartphone. The offer came with 300 minutes of free calls per day and 1,200 minutes per week to other Idea customers, after which 30p per minute was charged. It then came up with a Rs. 447 prepaid pack that gave 1GB data per day and unbilled calls to any network for 70 days. The bundled calls with this Idea pack to other networks were capped at 3,000 minutes for the 70-day period. Users were charged 30p per minute on exhausting bundled calls to other networks. The cap for un-billed Idea-to-Idea calls were the same as those of the Rs. 297 pack.

The telco was also providing users with 1GB of high-speed data with the Rs. 348 recharge pack, along with unlimited free calls; a total of 28GB data per month. Apart from this, the operator was providing 3GB of 3G/ 4G data for free with the new Idea Rs. 499 and Rs. 999 postpaid plans in March. Idea's new Ultimate 999 postpaid plan, priced at Rs. 999, came with 8GB of bundled data per billing cycle for users with 4G phones, while those with 3G/2G handsets get 5GB data. Along with this, the operator also provided customers 1GB of free data as part of its 'Acquisition Offer'. In addition, customers who upgraded to a new 4G handset in April on the Ultimate 999 plan (which comes with 5GB of complimentary data) received 1GB of data free every month until December 31, 2017, totalling 12GB of free data.

The postpaid customers of Idea were offered a new pack in April that gave them up to 10GB data per month, up to three months. Known as the 'Data Jackpot', users will get a minimum of 1GB per month for three months at Rs. 100 per month with a maximum of 10GB data. Another pack from Idea launched in March-end was the Rs. 300 pack that provided customers 1GB data per day per billing cycle (roughly Rs. 10 per GB) to those with 4G smartphones. The recharge pack was made available for customers with rental plans of Rs. 199 or higher, and the last date to buy the recharge pack was April 30, 2017; after that, Idea postpaid users could purchase the Rs. 300 pack every month for a year to get the data benefits.

Also in May, Idea Cellular on the occasion of the completion of its pan-India 4G network rollout with Mumbai, it offered 10GB of 4G data free to its existing and new customers for the first three months.

In June, Idea came up with a new recharge pack worth Rs. 396 with a 70-day validity that offered 1GB 3G/4G (varies with circle) data per day. Additionally, the customers also received unlimited calls for the 70-day validity period, but only to other Idea numbers. Un-billed calls to other networks were capped at 3,000 minutes for the whole validity, with limits of 300 minutes a day, and 1,200 minutes a week.

Talking about the current availability of tariffs, Idea Cellular is giving 6GB 3G data at Rs. 96 for 28 days with no free call benefits. Apart from this, the Rs. 396 is still available for Idea prepaid customers while the Rs. 297 plan has been revised to Rs. 244 with similar data and calling benefits. There's also a Rs. 197 recharge plan that will give you unlimited local and STD calls along with just 1GB of monthly data for 28 days.

The latest Idea offer to take on Reliance Jio is the new Rs. 453 prepaid pack, which provides 84GB of data for 84 days, with 1GB daily data cap. The data is limited to 3G speeds, and the buyer also gets bundled calls (300 minutes per day and 1,200 minutes per week) for the validity period. This plan competes directly with the Rs. 399 Jio Dhan Dhana Dhan Offer prepaid pack.

BSNL

State-owned telco BSNL is not aloof from the ongoing battle amongst the industry players either. It launched the BSNL Rs. 333 Triple Ace plan in April that offered 3GB data per day for up to 90 days. However, since BSNL is yet to launch its 4G services, the data consumers would get will be 3G and 2G data, depending on the circle. Another plan worth Rs. 339 with validity of 28 days was launched in March, which came with 25 minutes of free calls to other networks per day. Beyond the free 25 minutes, customers were to be charged at 25p per minute for long phone calls. The offer was limited for 90 days.

BSNL also came up with Rs. 395 BSNL 'Nehle Pe Dehla' plan that provided 2GB of data per day for 71 days, along with bundled local and STD calls. The bundled calls to BSNL numbers were capped at 3,000 minutes and calls to other networks were restricted to 1,800 minutes in the validity period, and there were charges after the exhausting. Another special tariff voucher, called Dil Khol Ke Bol, for Rs. 349 offered unlimited voice calls (local and STD) alongside additional 2GB for a month with a validity of 28 days

Then in June, the company launched the Rs. 444 plan, under which the prepaid subscribers could get 4GB data per day with a validity of 90 days. In a matter of days, BSNL launched the Sixer 666 pack, priced at Rs. 666. It came with 120GB data bundled with unlimited calls for the prepaid subscribers with a validity of 60 days.

In the same month along the lines of Vodafone's Ramzan offer, BSNL too brought special packs for the occasion of Ramzan. Priced at Rs. 786 and Rs. 599, BSNL's plans offered its prepaid subscribers 3GB of data for 90 days with full talk time of Rs. 786 and full balance of Rs. 507 for all purposes, plus Rs. 279 exclusively for voice calls respectively. However, the Rs. 786 pack provides the dedicated Rs. 786 balance only for calls, and cannot be used for sending SMSes, or consuming data if the bundled 3GB is exhausted.

This month, BSNL shifted its focus to its postpaid users and gave them additional data on the standard postpaid plans. BSNL customers who were enrolled under Plan 99 can get 250MB of data compared to zero data benefit previously. Similarly, those with Plan 225 will 1GB data compared to 200MB, and Plan 325 will offer 2GB of data compared to just 250MB data. Users enrolled under Plan 525 and 725 will now get 3GB (earlier 500MB) and 5GB data (earlier 1GB).

Aircel

Aircel has not been as frenzied in launching plans with high bundled data as Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, and BSNL to compete with Jio, but has recently released a few to make sure it remains attractive to buyers. The company launched a Rs. 333 prepaid recharge pack in Karnataka circle, with 30GB bundled data with validity of 30 days; notably, unlike most plans this one doesn't have a restriction on daily data consumption, so users can howsoever much data they choose to within the validity period. In UP (East) circle, there's the Rs. 348 Aircel pack for prepaid users, which has validity of 84 days. It comes with 84GB data, doled out at 1GB per day, as well as unlimited free calls to any network. The Internet speeds with both packs are limited to 3G, unlike Jio's 4G speeds.

While the aforementioned telecom plans from the major five telecom operators are an aggregate of past three months, a bunch of new telecom offers with data heavy benefits can be expected from rival telcos to keep Reliance Jio at bay.

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Google introduces Android Go for entry-level smartphones with less than 1 GB RAM

Even as flagship smartphones pack in up to 8 GB of RAM, entry-level smartphones have been keeping the RAM below 1 GB to maintain the low price. To avoid the depressing experience with such handsets, Google has now released the Android Go platform at the on-going Google I/O 2017 Developer Conference.

Google has announced the Android Go platform crafted specifically for low-cost Android smartphones having 1 GB RAM or lesser. The platform promises smooth and efficient software experience. Further, it has better data management, offers better saving. Additionally, users can top up directly from the data settings once data is over.

The Android Go platform, which is said to be highly inspired from the YouTube Go app, aims at a better user experience by highlighting apps that are specifically designed for these devices. The apps would be specifically tuned to use less memory, storage space, and mobile data.

Commenting about the Android Go platform, Google said, “Android Go is designed with features relevant for people who have limited data connectivity and speak multiple languages, and comes to life through three key areas: The Android OS, Google apps, and the Google Play Store.”

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