PicsArt offers exciting tools and music soundtracks for an unforgettable Father’s Day and World Music Day

 PicsArt, one of the world's leading creative platform and social editing app, is looking ahead to make your Father’s Day celebrations unique by offering a range of stickers and templates for the upcoming holiday. PicsArt is also releasing special AI music features to make celebrating both Father’s Day and World Music Day more colorful this year. 

For many of us, both of these special occasions have played a very important role in our bonds with our fathers. Until recently, picking out the perfect gift and sending a card with a sweet message was how we celebrated Father’s Day, but with our new reality that has hit us in recent times, we have learned that the best thing is to make sure our loved ones feel special while keeping them safe. For those staying apart from their families, the closest way of being connected is digitally. To make sure that you don’t miss out on showing gratitude to your father in the coolest way possible this Father’s Day, PicsArt has got you covered.

“Celebrating Father’s Day is a very new thing in India because in a traditional Indian family, children were much closer with their mothers than their fathers who were usually at work, but this has changed. In modern India, fathers have become more involved in their children’s lives. To celebrate this special bond and further strengthen it, PicsArt has come up with special Father’s Day templates and stickers for making customized social posts, images and videos to celebrate the contributions our fathers have made in our lives and our memories together. To make it all the more colorful and fun, PicsArt also has a new AI Music feature that can add unique soundtracks to your video content,’’ said Ravish Jain, Country Head of PicsArt.

With the new Father’s Day stickers and templates, PicsArt users can now design their own custom cards celebrating their fathers’ lives and recreate the beautiful moments they had together with creative tools and quotes. As Father’s Day and World Music Day fall one day apart this year, you can celebrate both occasions by creating a Father’s Day video with a great soundtrack to make him feel super special — an extra treat if your dad is a music lover.

For all the dads who love bollywood music, PicsArt has added an ‘Indian Music’ section in the app, where you can find some amazing melodies. PicsArt’s AI algorithm comes with more than 500,000 song samples, beats, and patterns to automatically generate an unlimited library of new tracks and millions of minutes of unique music. You can post your PicsArt-edited Father’s Day video with a cool music soundtrack and select from 20 moods/genres in addition to the Indian music available in the app per your fathers’ preference, to make a magical tribute he’s sure to love. The AI Music feature is currently available on iOS, and will soon be released on Android.

PicsArt is free to download for Apple, Android, and Windows and can also be accessed on the web. PicsArt Gold is available on a monthly or annual subscription basis for those wishing to enjoy premium editing. With PicsArt Gold, subscribers have access to millions of stickers, hundreds of fonts, frames and backgrounds, and an entire library of free-to-edit content and stock photography. 

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Fossil Launches Pro-Planet Cactus Leather Tote Bags And Limited-Edition Solar Watch In Celebration Of Earth Month

As part of a continued commitment to sustainability, and in celebration of Earth Month, Fossil is proud to launch our latest pro-planet assortment. This collection includes brand new cactus leather tote bags made in partnership with Desserto®, and our second iteration of the limited-edition Solar Watch. The launches follow commitments that Fossil announced in 2019 as part of our ongoing Make Time For Good initiative, dedicated to making change in communities throughout the world through pro-planet materials, products and packaging, as well as reducing our footprint in water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The cactus leather totes and Solar Watch are an example of new materials and sustainable partners that Fossil has cultivated in an increased push towards leaving a lighter footprint for a more sustainable future.

 

Fossil is proud to be one of the first retailers to introduce vegan cactus leather, an innovative material new to the industry, through the collection of Kier Cactus Leather Totes. Each bag is designed with material made from organically grown cactus leaves developed by Desserto®, a Mexico-based company with a focus on sustainable materials. The leaves come from cactus plants that require only rain water and Earth minerals for growth. Once harvested, the leaves are dried in the sun for three to six days, which removes the need for any additional energy source for the drying process. Not only is this an energy-efficient processing technique, but no herbicides, pesticides or irrigation systems are used in the production of the cactus. As a result of this innovative process, each Kier tote saves 7.5 liters of water — the equivalent of fifteen 500 milliliter water bottles. Additionally, each cactus’ trunk is left intact to enable repeat harvesting, as the leaves regenerate every six to eight months. The collection will include four stunning colorways — moss, wine, black and brown — and will be available for Rs. 19,295 beginning April 22. 

 

"After witnessing first-hand the impact that tanneries have on the environment, we sought to create a vegan alternative that leaves a lighter footprint while meeting our rigorous quality standards," says Desserto cofounder Marte Cázarez. “Almost immediately, we decided to leave our jobs and dedicate the next two years to designing and creating a solution."

 

"Since first introducing Desserto cactus leather to the world in 2019, we have continued to develop and educate others on our materials and sustainable processes. Today, we are proud to partner with brands, like Fossil, who share a vision of reducing their environmental impact through the use of eco-friendly materials,” adds Desserto cofounder Adrián López Velarde. 

 

Fossil is also proud to announce the second iteration of its limited-edition Solar Watch — the World-Timer — launching on Earth Day. The watch houses a solar-powered movement with rechargeable battery, which can reach a full charge after eight hours in the sun and will retain charge for up to three months. Also, the 42mm watch case is made with castor oil while the rPet strap is made from post-consumer plastic bottles. In addition to its pro-planet designs, the World-Timer is packed with features, including a compass, stopwatch, alarm, timer, and world time function. In the world time function, the user can select from forty-nine cities around the world to easily check the local time in that area, connecting users across the globe. The limited-edition watch will be available for Rs. 11,995 beginning April 22.

 

“Over the course of the last two years, our teams have worked diligently to identify areas of our business that make the largest environmental impact and to chart the course towards meaningful charge. The result is an index of commitments that we’ve established to leave a smaller footprint and better world for future generations. Some of these changes include: introducing more pro-planet materials like recycled stainless steel and litehide leather into our assortment, removing foam material from packaging, and moving to ensure all paper goods are made from a minimum of 80% recycled material,” says Steve Evans, EVP Chief Brand Officer. “Fossil believes that when we combine our time and passion, we can make lasting change for people and the planet.”

 

Johnson Verghese, Managing Director at Fossil India said, “We are delighted to provide our consumers in India with a retail experience that is fueled with our passion to embark on a sustainable journey. One that will reduce carbon footprints and help in optimizing resources to the fullest. In doing so, we aim to contribute towards better environmental and people health. As our planet continues to be in a constant climate crisis, sustainability is certainly the need of the hour. With our pro-planet initiative, we look forward to creating products that will inspire and celebrate sustainability as well as continue to be at the forefront of fashion.”

 

In addition to the Kier Cactus Leather Totes and World Timer launches, Fossil is excited to grow our assortment of pro-planet styles in our seasonal collections as well. This summer, mainline solar watches in the bestselling Minimalist and Jacqueline styles will become available in a variety of colorways. As with the limited-edition Solar Watch, the sun-powered battery plus pro-planet case and straps reduce water and battery waste. Additionally, Fossil’s assortment of pro-planet bags continues to grow as classic styles are re-released in eco-leather this summer. Since being introduced to Fossil’s product assortment last fall, more than 90% of our leather material for bags and small leather goods is now sourced from Leather Working Group certified tanneries. To date, about 1.8 million gallons of water have been saved through the use of 1.5 million square feet of eco-leather, sourced in partnership with our pro-planet leather providers.

 

Fossil Group’s ongoing commitments towards pro-planet progress include:

• Design and produce 100% of our product to meet our pro-planet criteria by 2025.
• Make 100% of our primary packaging recyclable and/or reusable by 2025.
• Lead in circular business model approaches — where our materials can be used, reused and reduced — by 2025.
• Reduce water consumption for leather tanning by 45% by 2025.
• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030.
• Eliminate virgin plastics in our supply chain by 2030.

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Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella addresses students at the Young Innovators Summit in Delhi

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella today met a gathering of students and educators at the Young Innovators Summit organized by Microsoft India at the India Habitat Centre, Delhi. The Young Innovators Summit brought together over 250 students and educators in Delhi NCR.  In conversation with Anant Maheshwari, President, Microsoft India, Satya Nadella spoke about the role that technology will play in transforming the education ecosystem over the next decade, outlining the opportunity students have today to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems with technology.

Speaking at the summit, Satya, said, "We need to reformulate the relationship between technology and learning. It is very interesting to witness the way young innovators think today. What excited and inspired me from my meetings with students was the quality of their ideas, the scope of their ambition, deep passion and deep empathy turning into action. This is truly transformative, and is how societies and economies move forward."

Watch Satya Nadella in conversation with Anant Maheshwari at the Young Innovators Summit

The Young Innovators Summit also showcased examples of technology-powered innovation from the student community in India. Three young innovators talked about how they are using technology to connect the world and solve some of the biggest social, environmental and health challenges of our times.

• USING AI TO SAVE LIVES: PRATIK MOHAPATRA

OrganSecure, built by Pratik Mohapatra, uses a sophisticated set of machine learning algorithms to quickly match organ donors with recipients, providing real-time updates to people in need of a transplant. His idea of an AI-powered app that aims to match organ donors with people in need of an organ transplant in real-time, was one of the three winning ideas at the 2019 Microsoft AI for Good Idea Challenge.

A coding enthusiast, Mohapatra has been developing apps since he was 14 years old and has a keen interest in applying technology to life sciences. In his words, “While watching a web series that revolves around organ donation, I realized the pain and emotional trauma people go through when waiting for a transplant. I started digging deeper about the problem and spoke to doctors at leading hospitals in Bengaluru to comprehend the magnitude of the issue,” he shares.

Read more here.

• FIGHTING AIR POLLUTION WITH AI: ISHLOK VASHISTHA

Taking from their experience of living in the vicinity of New Delhi, which has one of the world’s worst air quality, Ishlok and four of his friends decided to use technology to tackle the problem. The team, comprising Ishlok Vashistha, Aakash Bhadana, Vasu Kaushik, Dipesh Narwat, and Bharat Sundal from Manav Rachna Institute of Research & Studies in Faridabad came up with Caeli, a smart anti-pollution face mask and portable nebulizer to help those with breathing ailments like asthma and other chronic respiratory diseases.

The mask and nebulizer are connected to a smartphone application via Bluetooth. The Caeli mask features an air filtration system and an Air Quality Index (AQI) sensor that constantly monitors the quality of air, while the Caeli app controls the schedule of the drug dispensed from the nebulizer depending on the user’s prescription and pollution levels. Their idea won the team the runners-up position at the Microsoft 2019 Imagine Cup World Championship.

Read more here.

• TRANSFORMING LEARNING THROUGH MINECRAFT: NAMYA JOSHI

Namya Joshi, a seventh-grade student at Sat Paul Mittal School, Ludhiana, Punjab, has become an icon and inspiration for many. Namya, a 13-year-old, loves training teachers and has been a crusader for making learning fun through technology. She has been helping teachers at her school convert their class lessons into interactive Minecraft sessions. Namya has conducted multiple Skype sessions across countries like Vietnam, India, Hungary, Finland, for both teachers and students to initiate them into the use of Minecraft in classes.

“Minecraft is a great platform”, she says. “If a child does not like reading books, for example, you can make them in Minecraft and get the child interested.”

Namya has been conferred with the REX Karamveer Global Fellowship and Karamveer Chakra Award, and is a winner of the ‘UNESCO Clubs 2018-2019 Worldwide Youth Multimedia Competition’ for creating a virtual library of books on Minecraft. Read more here.

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vivo Announces Partnership with PUBG MOBILE Club Open 2019

vivo recentlry announced a partnership with the top grossing mobile game - PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDSMobile (PUBG MOBILE) by Tencent Games and PUBG Corporation as the title sponsor of the upcoming PUBG MOBILE Club Open 2019, one of the biggest mobile gaming tournaments in the world.  vivo will provide the official smartphones for the PUBG MOBILE Club Open 2019, which players from ten regions across the globe will be leveraging to battle their way through the Spring & Fall Split, for the total prize pool of $2.5M USD. This global partnership reinforces vivo’s commitment to bringing an ultra-smooth gaming experience to connect with consumers through meaningful partnerships. 

vivo Title sponsor of PUBG Mobile Club Open 2019

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Sharing his thoughts on the partnership, Mr. Nipun Marya, Director-Brand Strategy, vivo India said, “vivo thrives to be at the forefront of the eSports industry to best serve its consumers. The partnership with PUBG MOBILE is a key milestone especially given that it is a leading mobile game developed by Tencent Games and PUBG Corporation that has millions of fans globally. PUBG MOBILE Club Open 2019 is a strong opportunity to showcase vivo’s vision of ‘enjoying the extraordinary’ by bringing global players a true gaming experience like no other. This global partnership will unfold and strengthen vivo’s position in being an innovative and stylish brand that always puts our consumer experience first”.

“We are excited to partner with vivo, as they have a strong reputation in being innovative and putting the consumer’s needs first. As an innovative brand ourselves, this partnership highlights our dedication to bring the best experience possible to our players and fans around the world. This partnership is just the beginning, we want to continue building a strong portfolio of partnerships with industry-leading companies, such as vivo, to provide the best mobile gaming experience possible,” said Vincent Wang, General Manager of Global Publishing Department, Tencent Games.

The PUBG MOBILE STAR CHALLENGE 2018 was watched by over 230 million viewers and drew in over 5,000 live attendees at the global finals in Dubai. The qualifying round of PUBG MOBILE Club Open 2019 will begin on March 22, 2019. The Spring Split Global Finals will be hosted in July this year, with the Fall Split Global Finals following in December.

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PUBG mobile reaches 10 million daily active users milestone

Tencent and PUBG Corp. announced that wildly popular game PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds MOBILE (PUBG MOBILE) has surpassed 10 million daily active users (DAUs) around the world (excluding China).

Tencent and PUBG Corp. have announced the impressive DAU milestone for PUBG MOBILE, the mobile version of the massively popular game that was released on the App Store and Google Play Store internationally on March 19th. In addition, PUBG MOBILE has claimed the most downloaded spot in more than 100 countries and areas. It took PUBG MOBILE less than a week to become one of the fastest games to achieve this performance.

PUBG MOBILE has been met with a positive response from players and critics alike. It has been nominated for “Best Breakthrough Hit” and “Best Community Building Game” at the 2018 Google Play Awards, and was the only game to be nominated for two awards.

The PUBG MOBILE development team is focused on delivering the original PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds PC version’s core excitement to mobile, optimizing the user interface so that mobile players can play as intended. The team paid special attention to the controls and optimization to give players a smooth, intuitive and immersive experience. The team consistently updates the game with new content every month.

For Tencent Games, smartphone games achieved approximately RMB21.7 billion revenues (including smart phone games revenues attributable to social networks business), up 68% year-on-year, driven by in-house mobile titles such as Arena of Valor and QQ Speed Mobile. Revenues increased 28% sequentially due to seasonal promotional activities and new games. Arena of Valor remained the highest grossing smartphone game in China’s iOS Top Grossing Chart. Its metrics were healthy with double-digit growth in DAUs and strong growth in revenues on year-on-year basis. The multi-player online battle arena subgenre has boomed in popularity due to the industry’s growing esports scene. Since launching in China in 2015, Arena of Valor has experienced immense growth and now boasts of more than 200 million monthly active players, making it one of the most popular mobile games in the world.

PUBG MOBILE is available to download for free on the App Store and Google Play.

Arena of Valor is available on the Google Play Store & App Store

Not edited by our staff

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Transsion Holdings emerges as 5th largest Mobile Handset player in India: Counterpoint Report Q1 2018

Transsion Holdings, one of the largest global mobile phone conglomerate has emerged as fifth largest mobile handset player in Indian market as suggested by Counterpoint Report Q1 2018. For those who are wondering what Transsion Holdings is or if they have never heard of this name earlier, Transsion Holdings is best known in emerging markets for its leading mobile phone brands including TECNO, itel, Infinix, and Spice. Its brand portfolio also comprises Carlcare for after-sales services, oraimo for smart accessories as well as Syinix for home appliances

Since the launch in April 2016 with itel, TRANSSION India has consistently increased its footprint in the Indian market. Aligned with its multi brand-strategy in India, the company has successfully launched 5 brands in India; itel, TECNO, Infinix, Spice and oraimo, catering to the unique needs of specific consumers in the year 2017. TRANSSION, has a robust pan-India presence with a deep distribution network of 1.05 lakh retailers and 3,000 plus channel partners, enabling the company to cater to the length and breadth of the country. TRANSSION will continue to expand and engage the channel better in 2018 as well.

TRANSSION India also introduced its after-sales service brand, “Carlcare”, in addition to launching its one COCO (company-owned, company-controlled) service centre in India with over 1,000 service touch points for all TRANSSION brands. It is this ownership of the end-to-end customer journey, both before and after purchase, which has helped in delivering an unparalleled ownership experience.

Speaking on the achievement, Mr. Marco Ma, Chief Managing Director – TRANSSION India, said, “We are deeply delighted to have achieved this success within 2 years of our operations in India and emerged as one of India’s leading mobile phone players. India is a key priority market for TRANSSION. We are consistently working towards providing world class experience, and, customized mobile solutions to the Indian consumers. Having said that, we are glad to gain recognition as well as a strong endorsement from a credible industry body, Counterpoint. This further fuels our commitment towards Indian consumers.”

TRANSSION’s successful innings in India has been possible due to its go-to market strategy and differential marketing approach tailored for each brand under its umbrella. Apart from product quality, a superlative distribution network, customer service and game changing service promises have been the reason of TRANSSION’s success in India.

itel, since its launch in April 2016 has retained its leadership position based on the promise of democratizing technology and offering fuller promise. Having achieved a leadership position in the feature phone category, itel is all poised to disrupt and build a strong base for its smartphones in India with a superlative smartphone portfolio which was introduced recently.

TECNO, a premium offline smartphone brand from TRANSSION India has emerged as one of the leading smartphone brand and is at the verge of entering the list of top ten smartphone brands in the country within first year of its operations. The brand started in the year 2018 on a promising note with the launch of global camera-centric “Camon” smartphones in India, enabled with Full View display. Camon series (Camon i, Camon Air & Camon i Sky) has played a vital role in bolstering TECNO’s India growth story, registering 23% QoQ in Q1 2018 (Source: Counterpoint), with the aim of making it to the Top 5 smartphone brands by end of 2018. The quarter also witnessed some key strategic marketing tie-ups such as partnering with leading telecom operator Vodafone, for offering exciting cashback offers to its new buyers and being the Official Smartphone Partner for Kings XI Punjab for IPL 2018.

Furthermore, Infinix, the online smartphone brand of TRANSSION India, following its successful launch in August 2017, has been well received by the consumers, making it one of the highest rated Smartphone brands on Flipkart continuously, with an average rating of 4 or above on all its products. The brand recently launched its first selfie-centric smartphone with Full View display “Hot S3” in Q1 2018 strengthening its smartphone portfolio, comprising Hot 4 Pro for entry level; Note 4 & Hot S3 for mid-level and Zero 5, the flagship “Dual Camera” smartphone

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ad:tech, New Delhi successfully concludes its 8th edition

The 2018 edition of ad:tech New Delhi, the biggest gallery of advertising and marketing community in the country successfully concludes its 8th edition of Digital Marketing & Advertising Conference & Exhibition in India which was held at The Leela Ambience Hotel, Gurugram. ad:tech 2018 delivered two action packed days with more than 90 companies from across the Globe including Google, Adobe, PepsiCo, Future Group, Nestle, Philips, Oath among others who actively participated. Ad tech also witnessed Advertising agencies, publishers and International players from Japan, China, Israel, Russia, US who showcased and discussed the technological innovations in the post advertising era.

The Keynote session on day 2 talked about amalgamation of Automation and Human Experiences Perhaps more than any other industries, marketing has been completely disrupted by technology. Marketers work tirelessly to track customers on their journey across new devices and platforms, and are looking to new and ever-evolving technologies to streamline the process. Prominent keynote speaker Sapna Chadha, Head of Marketing India and Sea, Google said “The biggest challenge today is the pace at which digital marketing is evolving in India is much faster than the architecture in place to support their creativity.” Rashi Goel, Head of Consumer Communications, Nestle shared her views on the topic stating that “The perfect balance between DATA and IDEA is of paramount importance for brands”

TNBT winner GetVidAI at adtech 2018

David Shing, VP and Digital Prophet, Oath in his key note session on ‘Innovation is out, Invention is in’ stated that “Today it’s all about packaging! To adopt a new habit we need to break one”. Mr. Shing further added “Creativity should reflect culture. Leveraging data is important. Without data there can’t be creativity and vice versa.”

Elated on the successful closure of 2018 Jaswant Singh, Country MD at Comexposium India said, “We are overwhelmed with the phenomenal response we have received for ad:tech this year. It is important for us to be relevant and to ensure that the platform brings latest trends and innovation for the industry to the forefront.

Jaswant further added, “We are excited to see ourself grow over these 8 years and plan to amplify our presence further in the Indian Market with the launch ad:tech Mumbai in November2018 ”.

Santosh Desai, Managing Director & CEO, Futurebrands in his Keynote session on ‘Towards A Digital Society’ stated that “People experience themselves as individuals on a minute-by-minute basis-liking, clicking, muting. Digital is helping individuals crystallize their sense of self and re-conceptualise their relationship with the world.”

The Next Big Thing Challenge

GetVidAI walked away with the coveted ‘The Next Big Thing’ title along with a fully funded pilot project with Nestlé. TNBT Challenge is a global initiative of Nestle in association with Ad Tech with the aim to build a platform that brings entrepreneurs and marketing leaders together and kick start collaborations. This proves to be a great platform for start-ups to prove their mettle by showcasing their indigenous ideas in front of Nestlé and digital media professionals.

Commenting on TNBT Mr. Jaswant Singh said “We are very pleased to provide this platform to budding entrepreneurs. We strongly believe that The Next Big Thing challenge is a great platform for start-ups to push the whole startup Ecosystem.”

The final day saw some of the key and exciting sessions on automation, innovation, integrating AI, Machine learning and building brands the Indian way by renowned brands like Nestle, Google, Oath, Philips, Hero Motor Corp among-st others.

Disclaimer: This post is not edited by Tech Siddhi staff, it is taken from syndicated feed.

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No more holding Selfie Sticks when you have Selfie Stick-It™ from inventors of The Selfie Stick™

Fromm Works, the father and daughter duo responsible for the invention of the selfie stick, is pleased to debut their latest product to the world. For those who have ever wished they could take a hands-free photo with their smartphone, their dreams have now come true. After appearing twice on "Dragon's Den" and finding success with their first product, inventors Sage and Wayne Fromm are back with Selfie Stick-It™, a device that magically converts any surface into a reusable instant photo booth.

Selfie Stick-it

As the inventors of the selfie stick, no one knows better than us the importance of a great selfie. However, we also realize that sometimes a selfie just won't cut it," said Adam Taub of Norlandam Marketing Inc. "As smartphones have become society's primary way of taking and storing pictures, things can get a bit tricky when someone wants to take a family photo or a solo shot that requires them to put the camera down or find someone else to take the picture. Understanding that smartphones aren't exactly conducive to these types of scenarios, we've come up with a remarkable solution to the problem, finally allowing anyone to take great hands-free photos without having to ask anyone to do it for them."

Apart from being a selfie stick-it , the product also works well for different use cases, like a phone stand to watch videos, follow recipe or makeup guide side by side by sticking phone on a surface etc. Below video explains such use cases for those interested.

Selfie Stick-It™ is the world's first hands-free smartphone mount with Bluetooth remote that can stick anywhere. A universal model that anyone can use, the remote works with both iOS and Android platforms. Selfie Stick-It™ fits any smartphone even when in a case, can be used in both portrait and landscape mode, is fully reusable (washable gel can be used over and over again), and works on almost any sealed or painted surface, including wood, glass, marble, and more. Weighing in at less than one ounce, the product has a strong yet temporary hold that won't leave any damage on the attached surface when mounted properly. Selfie Stick-It™ retails for $24.99 and is currently available at selfiestickit.ca as well as on Amazon.ca.

Selfie Stick-It™ is the world's first hands-free smartphone mount with Bluetooth remote that can stick anywhere. Company Founder Wayne Fromm has invented over 50 commercially successful products with companies including Disney®, Crayola® and Nestle® and holds dozens of patents..

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ASUS ranked as one Fortune's World's Most Admired Companies for the Computers category

• ASUS receives Fortune's World’s Most Admired Companies ranking for the Computers category
• Fortune conducted a worldwide survey of 1500 candidates and selected ASUS as one of the leading companies
• This is the third time ASUS has been recognized with honors from Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies survey

ASUS today announced its honourable recognition as one of Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies. The company has been ranked as a leading enterprise in the Computers category, reaffirming its leading position in the industry as a strong brand that continues to deliver excellent products and services.

Survey Method:

Fortune collaborated with its partner Korn Ferry on this survey of corporate reputation. Beginning with a universe of about 1500 candidates, the 1000 largest US companies were ranked by revenue, along with non-US companies in Fortune's Global 500 database that have revenues of $10 billion or more. The highest-revenue companies in each industry were then selected, totalling 680 in 29 countries. The top-rated companies were picked from that pool of 680; the executives who voted work at the companies in that group.

To determine the best-regarded companies in 52 industries, Korn Ferry asked executives, directors, and analysts to rate enterprises in their own industry on nine criteria, from investment value and quality of management and products to social responsibility and ability to attract talent. A company’s score must rank in the top half of its industry survey to be listed.

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Hotstar Named in Most Entertaining Apps of 2017 by Google Play

In another big win, Hotstar, India’s leading video streaming platform, has been named in the Most Entertaining Apps of 2017 by Google Play, the largest global app store for Android mobile devices.

Google Play’s Best of 2017 is the annual round-up of the best performing consumer applications across categories such as entertainment, productivity, gaming, fitness among others. Being the largest app ecosystem in the world, with over 3 million available apps, each category is hotly contested with products from the world’s best technology developers.

Since its launch, Hotstar, the first Indian app to cross 100 million downloads on the Google Play Store, has racked up multiple industry accolades such as Apple TV’s App of the Year and has been featured on every list of India’s most downloaded apps.

Impressively balancing the twin challenges of supporting traffic from millions of daily users, while still pushing the platform towards a world-class user experience, Hotstar has placed special emphasis on creating a personalized viewing experience, so as to help users smartly navigate through hundreds of thousands of hours of content.

To underscore its leadership in live sports, Hotstar has also made big investments towards providing users a sports experience that not only provides analysis, but also allows users to track and re-live the highs of the match in a communal experience with millions of other users. Innovations in content, coupled with Hotstar’s consistent efforts to keep the app data-light, have ensured that Hotstar is often a new mobile data user’s first app.

Google Play’s Best of 2017 was announced on 1^st December and the detailed list of winners can be viewed here.

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Swipe targets Corporate space with launch of brand specific Tablet PCs and Smartphone Customization for Enterprises

 A new trend has ushered in India Inc – customization of technology at the enterprise level. Companies – big and small, regional and national – are looking at customized Tablet PCs and Smartphones to help them increase brand loyalty and brand recall. Key sectors including Healthcare, Education and Infomedia are the early adopters of customized gadgets and companies from these sectors are offering customised communication devices to its employees, students, customers, vendors etc. 

Heralding this trend is none other than Swipe, the leading mobile technology company, better known for introducing innovative Android-based Tablet PCs & Smartphones in India. Some of the recent clients of Swipe are Fasoos Food Services, Akanksha Foundation, NM Wadia Medical College, Amanora Park Town, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, Metro Shoes, Cabby Tabby, Vibble India, Emenox Healthcare, Seasons Marketing, Chocolate Biclate, Moving Digital Frames, Ricky Rickshaw, Eagle Eye Solutions, IOEMAS & Motivation for Excellence Initiative.

On offer are tablets and smartphones with multiple degree of customizations ranging from custom apps, brandings, hardware configuration, and tailored customer support. Customizations can be done at Kernel level where we remove all the unwanted apps and include only the required software. This insures a simple to understand UI and optimum utilisation of hardware for the intended purpose, hence offering a fast and seamless user experience.

Depending on the clients need, Swipe can tweak the hardware in regards to screen sizes, processors, camera resolution, connectivity, memory and much more. While on the branding front, a client can get their respective company logos as the boot screen, engraved on the back cover of the devices, and even custom packaging of devices making the entire proposition more appealing.

According to a Bain survey approx. 65%-75% consumers preferred customized options, it engages them more with the company which ultimately increases the brand loyalty along with recall.

Commenting on this new segment launch, Mr. Shripal Gandhi, Founder and CEO said, “Enterprises are in need of brand-specific customization that can enhance brand recall and also help the sales and after sales team work smarter. In the bargain, this customized technology helps create brand loyalty of a different kind. At Swipe, we always go a step ahead to know what our consumers want and create products for them. Every industry works in a different fashion and even individual company in the same vertical has a different outlook towards business. Swipe’s customised enterprise solutions are designed keeping in the mind the corporate requirement and brand-fit.”

By offering customized devices, the communication and work channel becomes more systematic and simpler. For instance, required data can be accessible from all the devices easily. Devices can be accustomed to perform whatever function the Enterprise needs - a restaurant needs devices to only take orders, a cab agency needs devices only for entertainment of its passengers, a finance organization needs devices only for sharing data and view stock related news. These functions can be pre customized according to the needs and demands of the enterprise. For more information contact us on email: info@justswipe.com or call us: +91 73500 17595.

Disclaimer: This story is taken from a syndicated feed and is not edited by our team except for the headline.

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Mi A1 : Android One Reviver or Killer of 'Flagship Killer' or both

Hey Guys, remember Android One? If not then let us remind you, it was Google's initiative to make Android phones more accessible to Indian consumers with a promise of pure Android on the device and certified by Google the branding was licensed to Indian manufacturers Micromax and Karbonn. These phones from respective companies were priced below 7000 INR and packed in 1 GB RAM, 8 GB ROM with Quad Core processors something which was generally available at price greater than 8000 in market at that time. A great initiative with massive advertisements, however the results were not up to the mark.

Highlights:

• Xiaomi Mi A1 is priced in India for Rs 14,999
• The phone comes with a guarantee of 2 years update from Google.
• Mi A1 Comes with Dual 12 MP rear Camera and2X optical zoom
• The device comes with 4 GB RAM, 64 GB ROM.
• Available on Flipkart, Mi.com and Mi Home Stores from 12 PM IST, 12th September

Today Google and Xiaomi announced the Android One launch with Xiaomi Mi A1 in India. The phone is a great example of what Android One represents: a collaboration between Google and its partners to deliver a software experience designed by Google.

Xiaomi Mi A1

3 years later Google is back with program albeit this time partner is changed and a lot have changed on the device profile. Though its very obvious you had to upgrade the device configuration to cope up with the market equations of today, however Mi A1 is a device which exceeds expectations by a great margin, at least on the paper. This is the device which priced at INR 14999/- can eat away the market share of present 'Flagship Killer', if you know what I mean. Thus this time there is expected to be huge hype around the device and it is expected that Android One will get a revival as Budget Flagship brand from Google . 

As you might have guessed , Mi A1 is optimized for Google's best products such as Duo, Personal Assistant and comes with security features such as Google Play Protect out of the box. The phone will receive latest Android Updates from Google for 2 years. As of now the device will come running on Android 7.1.2 Nougat. It comes with 5.5 inch full HD display with Corning Gorilla Glass protection and is powered by Snapdragon 625 octa core processor paired with 4GB of RAM. For storage you get 64 GB ROM onboard and can be further expanded upto 128 Gb via micro SD card on hybrid slot. The phone comes with connectivity options as 4G VoLTE , dual band WiFi 802.11ac, GPS, USB Type-C port and 3.5 mm headphone jack. 

For sensors the phone has accelerometer, ALS, gyroscope, IR, Magnetometer and proximity sensor. The device is fueled by 3080 mAh strong battery. 

Xiaomi Mi A1 enables the users to capture moments in stunning detail on Xiaomi’s dual camera with 2X optical zoom along with an unlimited storage space at high quality with Google Photos. The new phone will be available in dozens of countries, including India, Indonesia, Russia, Vietnam and Taiwan.

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