Tag Archives: tech news

McDonald’s Drive-Thru Gets Digital Makeover

November 7, 2016TechnologyHit Counts

When it comes to fast food industry, then we all know that McDonald’s wears the leadership cap. But, during the last couple of years, the most dynamic fast food chain has fallen behind its competitors quite drastically. It’s may be that customers haven’t been provided with an order-and-pay method via smartphones. And, keeping this particular aspect in mind McDonald’s gives digital makeover to its drive-thru by rolling out mobile order-and-pay technology.

According to Business Insider, McDonald’s will be launching its mobile order-and-pay app next year to facilitate its valued-customers with the easiest way of ordering their happy meals.

Initially, the technology will roll out to selected locations in the US. Moreover, it will also hit the international market such as Canada, France, UK and Australia to cater a wide range of audience across the world.

It’s not the first time McDonald’s is experimenting to be more customer-centric. The reputed fast food chain has made a couple of technological tests before including “Create Your Own Taste” menus at selected locations in 2014. But, this move will turn out to be reasonably impactful in terms of customer convenience.

Samsung’s Ultra-Modern Gear S3 will hit the Market on November 18th

November 4, 2016TechnologyHit Counts

Can’t wait to wear your new Gear S3 smartwatch?

Well, you no longer have to wait because Samsung Gear S3 will hit the US market on November 18^th. And, the happiest news of all is that you can preorder it from the 6^th of this month.

To make your order, you can go to Samsung’s official website straightaway. Also, you will be able to buy it from Amazon, Best Buy, T-Mobile, Verizon and Macy’s AT&T.

The news is not something new as Samsung has already made an official announcement of its Gear S3 smartwatch at IFA presentation two months ago. But, there is a lot more you should know about its features.

Gear S3 comes in two flavors, a Classic and a Frontier, but the truth is they both look similar. Both of the models visualize a stainless steel chassis which is water resistant of course and coated in scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass SR+.

However, apart from similarities, Samsung Pay is the only feature which makes Gear S3 a real BIG THING for sure, which also makes it the first smartwatch to support the MST tech. It means you can pay for goods quite easily wherever credit cards are accepted. Sounds good?

A Modern Twist to Samsung’s Mobile Accessories is displaying a Good Sense of Style

November 1, 2016TechnologyHit Counts

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 has now become a past because the company keeps customers’ satisfaction on top of the chart. And, Samsung’s latest range of stylish mobile accessories is bringing the curiosity back once again.

Each accessory is meant to be connected with a smartphone or tablet to double the dose of entertainment and enhance functionality at the same time. However, the products are only available in South Korea, but in the initial days of November they will be available in multiple markets across the world.

In total, there are only six products including a battery pack, a wireless charging tray, two wireless speakers and in-ear headphones. But, the only thing that makes these accessories different and entirely unique is their sleek and stylish design.

On the other hand, we still have to wait for prices because Samsung has not revealed any pricing information officially. It seems like value for each accessory will vary depending on the country you’re in.

Feature image courtesy of: https://yhoo.it/2eumuFo

Apple Goes with 16GB of RAM for Macbook Pro to Save Battery Life

October 31, 2016TechnologyHit Counts

Apple is always known for designing quality products and this is what the company has tried to incorporate on its new laptop edition, Macbook pro. However, despite of attributing super power Skylake processors, incredible GPUs, efficient SSDs and new thermal architecture, Apple limited its RAM capacity to 16GB.

On the other hand, a huge number of Mac users were expecting the company to bump up the maximum RAM to 32GB, but all their wishes were spoiled and left them with so many questions.

Such a chaos couldn’t stop one user who dropped an email to a general apple line about a 32GB RAM option and got surprised after hearing an instant response from marketing chief Phil Schiller himself.

Below mentioned are the details of an exchange between both of them;

Q: The lack of a 32GB BTO option for the new MBPs raised some eyebrows and caused some concerns (me included). Does ~3GBps bandwidth to the SSD make this a moot issue? I.e. memory paging on a 16GB system is so fast that 32GB is not a significant improvement?

Schiller: Thank you for the email. It is a good question. To put more than 16GB of fast RAM into a notebook design at this time would require a memory system that consumes much more power and wouldn’t be efficient enough for a notebook. I hope you check out this new generation MacBook Pro, it really is an incredible system.

Although the response from Phil Schiller was immediate, but will it be enough to satisfy the needs of tech savvies, especially those who prefer Macbook over other laptops?

Instagram is Looking Serious to Add Live Video Option

October 22, 2016TechnologyHit Counts

Facebook launched its ‘live video feature’ back in January, which is considered to be an effective way to connect with the loved ones on the spot. Moreover, this incredible live video feature is playing an integral role for entrepreneurs and brands to indulge with their fans and customers more effectively.

But, it seems like Facebook owned social network Instagram is curiously looking to launch its live video option too.

As reported by Russian website tjournal.ru, it seems like Instagram is testing out a live video feature. The screenshot used as a feature image here suggests that live videos on Instagram will appear the same way as stories.

However, unfortunately there is not much news gathered regarding its usability, as clicking on it takes users to a “popular live broadcasts” page which isn’t loading.

Feature image courtesy: https://www.engadget.com/2016/10/21/instagram-tests-live-videos/

Samsung Goes Gold with Galaxy TabPro S - Promises More Power and Luxury for Users

October 15, 2016TechnologyHit Counts

Samsung might be facing a real bad time due to its exploding smartphones, but the company has so many other ways to compensate the loss and regain its huge market. And, Galaxy TabPro S tablet is just the right way to answer.

The tech giant has officially launched the new premium gold version of its Galaxy TabPro yesterday, promising more luxury and power with 8 GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD.

But unfortunately, other specifications are still unchanged, which means that you will still get the same 12-inch 2,160×1,440 Super AMOLED display, 2.2 GHz Intel Core M3 processor, a USB Type-C port, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and 5 MP dual cameras.

The new gold plated TabPro costs $1,000, while the previous version is just a little bit reasonable with a price of $800.

Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile Officially Confirmed to Halt the Sales of Galaxy Note 7

October 10, 2016TechnologyHit Counts

So, it’s officially confirmed that Verizon, AT&T and T-mobile will stop selling the Samsung Galaxy Note 7.

Practically, it’s a major drawback for Samsung, but it was the only solution to keep the users safe from any mishap.

The decision to suspend the sales and exchange of Note 7 is taken on behalf of serious issues that various customers have dealt with including a person who has been taken to the hospital and diagnosed with acute bronchitis.

After hearing about such kind of frequent incidents Samsung announced a global recall for its entire note 7 series last month. But unfortunately, replacement devices couldn’t make things better, as same issues have been experienced by the users.

The Livestreaming App Meerkat Says Goodbye to All Its Users

October 3, 2016TechnologyHit Counts

Do you remember Meerkat? It’s an app that became the center of attraction right after the initial days of its launch, which also led this app to be the star of SXSW. But then, Periscope came to the party, an app that holds almost similar type of functionalities, but didn’t strike the audience well.

However, after a couple of months Twitter acquired Periscope and took it to a whole new level. From that particular point interest in Meerkat declined.

And in result, Life on Air, the company that created Meerkat, announced the shutdown of live streaming app on Twitter a couple of days ago. According to the company, Meerkat has been shutdown to focus more on Houseparty, a group chatting application.

While speaking to TechCrunch, Ben Rubin, one of the co-founders of Life on Air reveals the truth:

We may have just pulled Meerkat from the app store, but it was actually six months after we launched that we made the decision to change direction. The category of broadcast (one-to-many) wasn’t breaking as a daily habit…it’s too far away from the everyday user.

The mission of our company has always been to connect people in the most human way possible while physically apart. Not only do we believe that Houseparty is a better manifestation of that vision, but also the market has shown us that too…spreading the app simply by word of mouth.

Google Station Working with an Aim to Make Public Wi-Fi Better and Faster

September 27, 2016TechnologyHit Counts

Google on its 18^th birthday announced a new public Wi-Fi called ‘Google Station’ for providing better and super-fast Wi-Fi to everyone. Its first station is installed in India, promising an efficient internet speed across the country.

Just like that, Google is looking forward to make similar kind of arrangements all around the world, as the ultimate mission is to make the internet available almost everywhere. Be it a coffee shop, mall or any public place, Google Station is launched with an aim to provide easily accessible Wi-Fi.

Caesar Sengupta, Vice President, Next Billion Users at Google said, “The goal is to give people many hot spots within a few minutes walk from their home, university, or workplace, unified by a simple login process that works across all of them.”

Security Alert: Uber Now wants its Drivers to take a Selfie before the Ride

September 24, 2016TechnologyHit Counts

Uber, one of the most popular online transportation services is taking security measures to the next level. The company announced on Friday that it will require every driver to take a self before accepting ride requests and called this new feature, a Real-Time ID Check.

The initiative has been taken for two major reasons: First, the company wants to eradicate fraud, and secondly the step will certainly protect driver’s account from being misused.

With such a newly added feature, drivers will be asked to take a selfie before accepting any ride. And while writing a blog post about this recent update, Joe Sullivan, the chief security officer said, “If the two photos don’t match, the account is temporarily blocked while we look into the situation.”

For this, the company has teamed up with Microsoft Cognitive Services, which through its facial recognition software will verify the driver’s identity. Whereas, while speaking with USA TODAY, Joe Sullivan said, “Driver account sharing or theft is a low-frequency problem right now, but when it happens it’s a high-severity thing for use so it makes sense to put our security resources on it.”