There are around two dozens of smartphone brands in Nepal making their authorized sales. Despite the hefty number of brands, Samsung, Huawei, and Gionee (combined) are enjoying more than three-fourth of the smartphone market share. And most of the brands are struggling to break this monopoly in this somewhat crowded smartphone market.

In order to prove their worth and attempt to meet the demand of Nepali users in the field of smartphones, one new brand is making an entrance in Nepali smartphone market. The new brand to knock the door in Nepali smartphone market is IVVI smartphones. Now IVVI smartphones will be available in Nepal via Opal Multinational Pvt Ltd, the designated authorized distributor of IVVI smartphones in Nepal. IVVI smartphones, the nascent brand is going to show up in Nepali market with its two handsets, IVVI V1m and SK5.

IVVI V1m

The V1m model of IVVI consists of 5.5-inch HD IPS display residing inside a dimension of 154.4 mm x 77.5 mm x 8.3 mm. The device is powered by a MediaTek 64-bit Quad-core CPU, which runs at a clock speed of 1.0 GHz. Memory wise; the phone has 2GB of RAM and internal storage of 16GB. If the internal storage falls short, the memory can be enhanced up to 64GB by the use of SDcard. This 145g device runs on Android OS, favored by Nougat version (v7.0) and flavored by Yun OS (v5.1.1) on the top. Optics-wise, the primary and secondary camera of the V1m uses 8MP and 2MP sensors respectively. On the connectivity side, V1m is packed with Bluetooth V4.0, Dual-SIM compatibility, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, A-GPS, and Radio. A 2500 mAh non-removable Li-Ion battery keeps the device nourished.

IVVI SK5

SK5 has superior specs as compared to V1m. It bears a metallic back with convincingly colored plastics caps on the top and the bottom. It too inherits a 5.5-inch IPS LCD display though the display in this one has Full HD capability. The SK5 is powered by 1.4 GHz Octa-core Mediatek CPU. SK5 runs on Android Marshmallow version (v6.0) with no upgrades mentioned. Memory wise, the device is packed with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal memory. However, the internal storage can be stretched up to 128GB with the use of SDcard. On the camera section, SK5 embraces 13MP primary camera and 8MP selfie shooter. The cameras are capable of recording Full-HD videos at 30fps frame rate.

For the security purpose, this device embraces a fingerprint scanner, which inherits beneath the LED flash of the primary camera. Connectivity wise, it supports Dual-SIM, Bluetooth, GPS, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, NFC, 4G LTE, FM, and OTG cable. The device bears 3000 mAh non-removable battery for the fueling purpose. The whole assembly fits in the dimension of 153.70 x 76.90 x 7.90 mm weighing 155 grams.

Opal Multinational Pvt. Ltd. will also be launching few high end Ivvi midrange phones in the future. The company also confirmed that they will be launching an exclusive service centre at CTC Mall, Kathmandu at launch. Both the Ivvi V1m and Sk5 will be priced competitively, company claims.

DuoSkin, a smart tattoo, is now a real thing brought to life by a collaboration of a group of Ph.D. Students from MIT and researchers from Microsoft Research. Well, this new innovation can be considered as the future of wearable as it is capable of controlling a smartphone, displaying different colors and can communicate with NFC-enabled devices.

Smart Tattoo: What we know so far

The technology as described on MIT’s website is called the DuoSkin. According to the researchers, this temporary smart tattoo can be made by designing the circuit using any graphic software. Then the tattoo is stamped on a gold leaf (which is widely available and conducts electricity). And hence, other commodity materials and components need to make tattoo interactive are then applied.

The smart tattoo so made can be used in three different ways:

Input Device:

DuoSkin can be designed to be used as an on-skin interface for controlling your phone or similar electronic devices. Such design can be used as a trackpad for the mobile devices.

Output Device:

Another design option of using DuoSkin is to use it as a color changing display for your tech-based tattoo that changes color as per your body temperature.

Communication Device:

This smart tattoo can be also be used to exchange data wirelessly. For wireless exchange of data, NFC tags have to be attached alongside the data. This technology can be used to unlock NFC-based door locks by placing your smart tattoo near the lock.

Verdict:

It is from such research, tech industry gets to see something new and amazing. So as a research and its result, this DuoSkin is something impressive. That said, we can’t assure its commercialization. It is still far away from being an applicable commercial product. But once its potentials are explored, this innovation might turn out to be a revolution in the wearable industry. Lastly, DuoSkin has already found a way of going commercial as a Digital Skin Jewelry which is a color changing one. Therefore, this innovation has some potentials but will it get properly explored or not is something we have to wait to see.

Samsung’s next flagship for the year 2017, the Samsung Galaxy S8, is only 23 days away from its official announcement. But is it the only release from the Korean giant we’re excited for? Well, the answer is no. Since We’ve already been seeing design renders of Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017), we were desperately looking forward to the official release of the fourth phone in the J7 family.

Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017): Release Date

The press image leak from the Evan Blass hinted for the release date of the next J7 and that’s April 10, 2017. This date has been considered to be the official announcement date since the leaked image is showing this date on its lock screen image.

Samsung SM-J727, coming to Verizon as the Galaxy J7 V and Tracfone as the J7 Sky Pro, among others. pic.twitter.com/nNa2ciniLE

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) February 21, 2017

Samsung Galaxy J7(2017): WiFi Certification

After 10days from the press image leak of the Samsung Galaxy J7(2017), the phone gets spotted again with its WiFi certification. This WiFi certification helped us be assured of few things. That is the next J7 will be running on Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box. Since the phone will be working on both the WiFi bands of 2.4GHz and 5Ghz, so it will house inside WiFi 802.11ac. But that could be something region dependent.

Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017): Rumored Specs

• 5.5″ Full HD display
• 2GB RAM
• 16GB expandable storage
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 or Exynos 7870 (region dependent)
• 13MP/5MP camera
• Android 7.0 Nougat

Verdict:

Looking at the specs, the J7(2017) doesn’t look much different than its predecessor with similar offerings like 2GB RAM and 16GB storage. And, Samsung doesn’t seem to have revised the camera module as well since it is offering 13MP/5MP units yet again. However, the screen resolution seems to get an upgrade with the Full HD offering. Plus, another sweetness is the Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box. I hope these rumored specs won’t turn out to be true. If the memory offerings will of 3GB/32GB then only Samsung will be able to stand competitively with the Chinese Manufacturers that offer heavy specs at a lesser price. However, the next J7 seems to sport a new design which is a most welcome thing. But how good this is gonna feel on hands is something we can only say after getting a hold of the device.

Starck Tech, a subsidiary of Jyoti Group, the sole distributor of Obi phones in Nepal has introduced price drop in three Obi Worldphone Smartphones. The price drop is of Rs. 1800, Rs. 2000 and Rs. 2500 in the models SJ1.5, SF1(16/2GB), and SF1(32/3GB) respectively. Hence, the new price of Obi Worldphone SJ1.5, SF1(16/2GB), and SF1(32/3GB) are Rs. 12,999, Rs. 19,499, and Rs. 23,699 respectively. However, Obi MV1 is still priced the same at Rs. 15,799.

Obi Worldphone SJ1.5 (Specs Highlights)

• 5-inch (1280 x 720 pixels)
• Corning Gorilla Glass 3
• 1.3 GHz Quad-core Mediatek MT6580 Processor
• 1GB RAM
• 16GB internal storage, expandable memory up to 32GB with microSD
• Android 5.1 (Lollipop)
• 8MP rear camera with OmniVision OV8865 sensor, f/2.2 aperture, LED flash
• 5MP front-facing camera
• 3000mAh battery
• Price: Rs. 12,999

Obi Worldphone SF1 (Specs Highlights)

• 5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels)
• Corning Gorilla Glass 4
• 1.5 GHz Octa-core Snapdragon 615 Processor
• 2GB / 3GB RAM
• 16GB / 32GB internal storage, expandable memory up to 64GB with microSD
• Android 5.0.2 (Lollipop)
• 13MP rear camera with LED flash, Sony IMX214 sensor, f/2.0 aperture
• 5MP front-facing camera with LED flash
• 3000mAh battery with Quick Charge 1.0
• Price: Rs. 19,499(2GB/16GB); Rs. 23,699(3GB/32GB)

Verdict:

Other than new releases, what excites me is the price drop. So, I take these price drops as something positive. But just the price drop doesn’t make these devices the good buying options. Yes, Obi phones come with a unique design that looks pretty sleek. But where exactly Obi phones lag from its competitors is the software that is based on outdated Android Lollipop. And, Software updates are something Obi hasn’t included in their “to-do-list”.

Last October Google Pixel and Pixel XL were announced. Since the announcement, Pixel devices received applauses in galore. The appealing features they possessed caught everyone’s attentions. The top-notch camera inherited by them and the leaving of the Nexus name by the Google were self-advertising in nature. They have also been able to prove themselves as the best contender in the flagship segment and as one of the best camera smartphones. Now there is another smartphone coming as the descendent of Pixel. Google officials have confirmed that the second generation of Pixel family is coming this year as Google Pixel 2. The official information came from Google’s head of hardware department, Rick Osterloh.

Rick Osterloh has been the responsible person on the production of Pixel devices. He fathered the Google Pixel devices and got them in good shape with good specs. So, regarding the future of Pixel devices, during a pressing meeting at MWC 2017 in Barcelona; he said “There is an annual rhythm in the industry. So, you can count on us to follow it. You can count on a Google Pixel successor this year, even if you don’t hear a date from me now.” Osterloh also hinted that the new generation of Pixel to have high-end design and appealing specs obviously residing in the “premium” flagship segment. He also shared that the current Google Pixel devices being insufficient to meet the demands. Through this information, he had shared the goodwill of Pixel devices and his expectation for its descendants.

If Google Pixel 2 comes in the market, it will have tough competitors like Samsung Galaxy S8 and Samsung Galaxy Note 8 from Samsung and iPhone 8 and 8 Plus from Apple. So, Google might do a lot of toils to bring it’s another premium handset. If that happens then we would be seeing lots of amazing specs in the Google Pixel 2.