Interra Conclave Mulls the Future of AI

Ina. recently held conclave on the future of AI,where the speakers had stressed the need for the information technology sector to embrace Artificial Intelligence (AI). Asoke K. Laha, Founder, President and CEO of InterraIT, has emerged as a strong advocate of the adoption of cutting-edge technologies as a strategy to reorient India’s IT industries in the face of challenges posed by rampant protectionism, increased competition, and labor arbitrage in its target markets.

“We need to look inward at domestic markets with a view to bringing to the table sophisticated new technologies like open-source software, cloud computing, data analytics, and now artificial intelligence.” Laha said.

Read More: https://varindia.com/news/interra-conclave-mulls-the-future-of-ai

TCP announces new app for power users in Mumbai

Tata Power Company (TPC) has announced an app for power users in Mumbai. The company will generate an additional 450 MW of clean power through hydel projects and the first 120 MW plant will be commissioned this year.

TPC has an existing capacity of 450 MW of hydro projects in Maharashtra.

According to the source, the 120 MW plant will be commissioned in the 100th year itself. The other launch is that of the first-ever free mobile app for customers in electricity distribution. The app will have features which will help a customer get redress and all information on fingertips.

TPC’s Club enerji, which is spearheaded by school children, also plans to help citizens in the centenary year to save Rs 100 crore in the form of energy conservation.

– See more at: http://www.varindia.com/tcp-announces-new-app-for-power-users-in-mumbai/#sthash.vPBDCZ0C.dpuf

Priyanka Chopra gains huge fan following on Viber

Viber has announced that Bollywood celebrity Priyanka Chopra’s public chat has crossed one million followers. Priyanka Chopra’s Public Chat allows millions of her fans to get to know what’s happening in the life of the famous Bollywood star.

Hitting the one million mark since the launch of her chat on January 8^th 2014, Priyanka Chopra’s Viber Public Chat ,has become one of the most popular amongst all Viber Public Chats in India.

Thanking her followers for the love, Priyanka Chopra posted a video message on her page. Expressing her excitement, she said, “Thank you so much everyone, 1 million on Viber. I am super excited. Thank you for your love.”

Globally, Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar’s public chat was the first to cross 1 million followers on Viber.

Launched on Viber, Public Chats allows users to discover, share and follow live discussions from a wide variety of celebrities, personalities and brands across many genres including music, sports, fashion, entertainment and more, using the familiar interface of the instant messaging platform. See more at: http://www.varindia.com/priyanka-chopra-gains-huge-fan-following-on-viber/

Microsoft launches Lumia 435 and Lumia 532

Microsoft corp. has launched two smartphone, Lumia 435 and Lumia 532 at Rs 5,999 and Rs 6,499 respectively which is affordable to the customers. Both smartphones come with latest Windows Phone 8.1 operating system, Microsoft’s Office suite including Word, Outlook for email, Skype, and up to 30GB of free cloud storage. The features of Lumia 435 include a four-inch display and a modest two-megapixel front camera.

The more expensive 532 features the same display but includes a more powerful camera and access to some high-speed networks, and dual SIM for using more than one phone number. Both the phones come with 30GB free OneDrive cloud storage offered by Microsoft and also with Micro SD slot with a storage capacity of upto 128GB.

The phones would hit the market from February 20, according to the statement. See more at: http://www.varindia.com/microsoft-launches-lumia-435-and-lumia-532/

Flipkart prepares itself for another Big Billion-Day Sale

Its a good news for Online Shoppers that Flipkart is offering Big Billion Day sale this year, once again. The company has already started preparing for the event and it will be “many times bigger” than the previous sale. It is also focusing on improving its ability to anticipate demand, deliver goods faster and eliminate sub-standard and fake products.

Flipkart plans to work closely with sellers on its site to improve its ability to predict demand and invest more in automating its supply chain to speed up delivery. The e-tailer aims to double the strength of its technology team in the next 12-18 months.

Company also want to see the mobile platform playing a larger role in the upcoming mega sale and will also focus on data analytics to offer personalised experiences across its mobile apps, marketplace platform and supply-chain network.

– See more at: http://www.varindia.com/flipkart-prepares-itself-for-another-big-billion-day-sale/

Red Hat gets “Positive” Rating in Gartner’s Vendor Rating Report

Red Hat has announced that Gartner has given the company a “Positive” rating in its first Vendor Rating. Gartner creates Vendor Ratings for approximately 30 IT vendors, and Red Hat believes its “Positive” rating reflects on the importance of its technologies and solutions in today’s IT market.

“Open source is a driving force behind everything from cloud computing and mobile to big data and beyond, and Red Hat customers around the world are benefiting from the innovation we provide. I believe that Gartner’s ‘Positive’ Vendor Rating validates the strength of our open hybrid cloud portfolio and our ability to meet enterprise customer needs as the worlds of physical, virtual and cloud systems converge,” said Paul Cormier, president, Products and Technologies, Red Hat.

Gartner’s Vendor Ratings are highly structured reports that define Gartner’s position on an individual vendor as a whole, not just on its position within a single market. Gartner’s evaluation was based on various criteria, such as Red Hat’s strategy, products and services, technology, marketing, and overall financial viability.

– See more at: http://www.varindia.com/red-hat-gets-positive-rating-in-gartners-vendor-rating-report/

Sales of wearable devices to reach 394 million units in 2020- Ovum

As per Ovum, the wearables market will be worth US$27bn in 2020, with almost 400 million wearable devices sold in the year. Ovum expects sales of wearable devices to reach 394 million units in 2020, up from 24 million units in 2014, corresponding to a CAGR of 60%. Revenues generated from the direct sale of wearable devices to consumers will reach US$26.6bn in 2020, up from US$3bn in 2014. Multipurpose wearables such as the Apple Watch will account for 31% of the installed base, with simple activity trackers and smart clothes making up the rest of the market. Wearables also offer additional software revenue opportunities via a dedicated app ecosystem that will serve up to 176 million installed devices by the end of 2020.

Ronan de Renesse, Ovum lead analyst for consumer technology said, “Affordability and better quality of service for smarter wearable devices will be key drivers in the shift from activity trackers to multipurpose wearables such as the Apple Watch. Currently, the market is overcrowded in comparison to demand. Supply chains and marketing investments need to be tightly controlled. Larger vendors able to sustain investments for longer stand a better chance of establishing a market lead.”

Wearables will become more capable and “smart” over the next five years. Ovum has designed a smartness index to quantify this evolution, based on whether a wearable features a screen, supports third-party apps, and/or operates autonomously. Recent product releases such as Microsoft Band, Fitbit Surge, and Pebble Steel show that activity trackers are becoming smarter. We expect the average smartness index for activity trackers to grow from 1.27 in 2014 to 1.88 in 2020. More than 60% of the installed base of activity trackers in 2020 will have a smartness index above 1.

– See more at: http://www.varindia.com/sales-of-wearable-devices-to-reach-394-million-units-in-2020-ovum/

20–30 cities to come under elite club of Smart Cities

Under the flagship scheme of PM Modi’s initiative to make 100 Indian cities as a smart city, the Centre has planned to take up 20–30 cities to develop them into smart cities this year. The cities to be revamped should meet certain requirements.

To begin with, the government is planning to create a colony or commercial area of around 50 acres in the vicinity of the city with smart features so that the success model will make people aware and more areas can be developed with people’s participation.

As per the concept note, there will be three approaches – retrofitting, redevelopment and greenfield development. Under the retrofitting scheme, a city can undertake an area of minimum 500 acres and can implement the scheme in three years. Under a redevelopment scheme, a 50- acre area can be taken as a model. Similarly, in the case of greenfield development, the project area can be a vacant land spread over at least 250 acres and can be completed in 10 years.

While selecting the cities, their performance in “Swachh Bharat” scheme and the initiatives taken for good governance, at least 50% tax collection and 60% assessment of properties to name a few, would be considered. Some of the other features that can prove as an advantage for any city are identifying business investment districts (BIDs) that can generate more employment, model byelaws and the existence of a municipal cadre.

– See more at: http://www.varindia.com/20-30-cities-to-come-under-elite-club-of-smart-cities/#sthash.vOpEfkiP.dpuf

Free Microsoft Office available on iPhone, iPad and Android

Microsoft has announced that its Word, Excel and Powerpoint will be available for free in Android based tablets.

It also released an app for its popular Outlook email program to run on Apple’s iPhone and iPad, hoping to attract the millions of users familiar with Outlook from their work desktops.

For almost three months Microsoft has been offering the test versions of the Office apps on Android but the announcement marks the availability of finished products from the online Google Play app store.

It is a part of company’s strategy and Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella attempts towrest back the initiative in the battle for mobile users, where Microsoft has fallen behind Apple and Google Inc. Nadella broke with decades of tradition last March by releasing a free, touch-friendly version of Office for Apple’s iPad, before such software was even available for Microsoft’s Windows devices.

– See more at: http://www.varindia.com/free-microsoft-office-available-on-iphone-ipad-and-android/

Paytm plans to add one lakh merchants and hire 4,500 employees

Noida based mobile payment wallet Paytm is aggressively planning to ramp up its mobile marketplace by adding over one lakh merchants in one year. It is also planning to rope in 4,500 people across various verticals.

Paytm started as a mobile recharge and bill payment service, is now into wallets and other electronic payment services with RBI-licensed wallet. The company plans to hire 4,500 across verticals and also focusing on SMEs.

Presently, Paytm, is owned by Noida based One97 Communications and headed by Chairman and MD Vijay Shekhar Sharma. It has around 2,000 employees on its payroll and 15,000 sellers on its market place. It started its journey in the year 2010 as a mobile recharge and bill payment service and later started diversifying into wallets and other electronic payment services.

– See more at: http://www.varindia.com/paytm-plans-to-add-one-lakh-merchants-and-hire-4500-employees/