Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL Have a Pixel Visual Core SoC, an Image Processor Google Hasn't Activated Yet

Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL Have a Pixel Visual Core SoC, an Image Processor Google Hasn't Activated Yet

 
HIGHLIGHTS

• There is a hidden chip in Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL smartphones

• The chip has been designed to enhance image professing

• It is not active yet, but will be soon enough

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The Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 xl that go on sale in India (and elsewhere) later this month offer a range of interesting features including an improved camera sensor, and best-in-class Snapdragon 835 processor. But there is one more interesting thing about the new Pixel smartphones that the company executives didn't share onstage at the event earlier this month: a custom SoC (system-on-chip) designed to handle camera image processing.

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• Both the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL feature the Pixel Visual Core, a Google-designed chip to enhance the camera capabilities of the phone. The chip isn't active yet, but the company says when it does activate the chip, the Pixel 2 will be able to process photos faster and efficiently than ever. Google plans to activate Pixel Visual Core at the time it releases Android 8.1 developer preview.
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This Diwali, 5 Things You Can Do Instead Of Bursting Firecrackers

New Delhi: Diwali, the biggest celebration of the year is here and the excitement levels are at its peak at this time of the year. If, this Diwali, you and your family have dropped the idea of bursting firecrackers, congratulations! And if your plans still include firecrackers, let this handy guide give you some alternatives to those choking firecrackers. Every Diwali, a thick cloud of smog as a result of firecrackersmake it increasingly difficult to breathe, so why not change that? Diwali, as the name suggests, is the festival of light NOT noise and let's keep it that way. So, after the Diwali puja, decorating your house and glamming up in new clothes, if you still have some time left, avoid reaching for the box of crackers and try these ideas instead.

dipawali

Gorge It Out

On Diwali, count your blessings and not the calories. Good food makes every celebration better and you can live by that motto even on Diwali. It's one of our biggest festivals and the food that day should reflect it too. Load up on sweets, delicacies and enjoy them with family and friends. You won't realise how quickly the day went by because you were busy licking fingers!

Think Green
Instead of choking the air with harmful firecrackers, flip things around. Plant a sapling with your family. Instead of giving gifts that may end up getting passed on to others, gift a plant. Who would mind some greenery in their home!

What's On The Cards
If you're good at playing cards, put that talent to good use and make some extra money. Throw a taash party for your friends or family (more the merrier) and get cracking. If you lack the skills, then maybe a game of monopoly with real money is more your thing.

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Asia Cup Hockey 2017 Highlights, India vs Pakistan: India Beat Pakistan 3-1 For 3rd Consecutive Win

India vs pakistan

Two easy wins garnered, a confident India would face their toughest test in the event when they take on arch-rivals Pakistan in the much-anticipated clash of the Asia Cup hockey tournament. Rated as favourites to win the title, the Indians have been impressive so far, beating Japan and hosts Bangladesh comprehensively in their opening two Pool A matches. After beating Japan 5-1 in their opening match, the Manpreet Singh-led side mauled minnows Bangladesh 7-0 on Friday. Pakistan, on the other hand, have had a mixed outing so far. While they thrashed Bangladesh 7-0 in their campaign-opener, they were held to a 2-2 draw by Japan in their next match.

Highlights Between India and Pakistan, Asia Cup Hockey straight from Dhaka, Bangladesh

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Flipkart Sale Offers Deals on Xiaomi Redmi Note 4, iPhone 8, Laptops, and More

The Flipkart sale started at 12am IST on Thursday, giving competition to Amazon and its ongoing sale. Flipkart's Festive Dhamaka Days salewill run till October 8, and is the company's second major sale of this festive season. The e-commerce titan has tied up with Axis Bank to provide 10 percent cashback to credit and debit card holders, with maximum cashback of Rs. 2,000 (no minimum order value). You can also pay using PhonePe while placing the order or at delivery to get a 20 percent cashback (maximum Rs. 200). There are also buyback guarantees, no cost EMIs, and exchange discounts, apart from the flat discounts already being provided in the sale. If you are in the market for a smartphone, laptop, tablets or other gadgets, we have picked out the best Flipkart sale offers on electronics.

Apple iPhone 8 64GB
Flipkart is offering the iPhone 8 64GB at a discounted price of Rs. 59,999 (MRP Rs. 64,000). You can exchange your old phone and get an additional discount up to Rs. 20,000 on your purchase. To sweeten the deal further, Flipkart is also offering a buyback guarantee for an additional Rs. 99. You can return your iPhone to Flipkart under the buyback offer and get up to Rs. 33,000 back (if you return within 6-8 months), Rs. 28,000 (if you return within 9-12 months) and Rs. 20,000 (if you return within 13-15 months). However, this applies to the exchange offer on Flipkart, which means you'll get this value only if you buy a new phone at the same time.

The iPhone 8 feature's an all-new design this year with a glass back. The iPhone 8 comes with a 4.7-inch Retina HD display with True Tone support. It is powered by the new A11 Bionic chip which is 70 percent faster than the previous A10 Fusion chip. The iPhone 8 also features a 12-megapixel camera at the back and a 7-megapixel front-facing camera.

Price: Rs. 59,999 (MRP Rs. 64,000)

Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 64GB
The 64GB + 4GB variant of popular budget smartphone Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 is available with a flat Rs. 2,000, bringing down the handset's price to Rs. 10,999. At Rs. 99, you can get the 1-year buyback guarantee, which will fetch you value of Rs. 6,000 if you exchange the Redmi Note 4 between 6-8 months and Rs. 4,700 between 9-12 months. If you plan to use the phone longer, you can purchase the 1-year extended warranty at Rs. 455, or 1-year damage protection at Rs. 975.

As for the features and specifications, the Android smartphone has a 5.5-inch full-HD screen, octa-core 2GHz Snapdragon 625 processor, 64GB built-in storage, microSD card support up to 128GB, 4GB RAM, 13-megapixel rear camera, 5-megapixel front camera, 4G VoLTE, 4100mAh battery, and dual SIM functionality.

Price: Rs. 10,999 (MRP Rs. 12,999)

MSI P Core 15.6-inch gaming laptop
If you're looking for a good deal on a gaming laptop, the MSI P Core 15.6-inch gaming laptop is down to Rs. 60,990 (MRP Rs. 83,990) during the Flipkart sale. The laptop is powered by the seventh-generation Core i7 processor, supported by 16GB of RAM. It comes with a 1TB hard drive and also includes a graphics card with 4GB of RAM. You'll need to purchase an operating system separately though. At this price point, it's quite a steal.

Price: Rs. 60,990 (MRP Rs. 83,990)

Mi Air Purifier 2
The festive season brings a lot of cheer each year, but it also comes at a time when the air is too bad to breathe. Prepare for it this year with the Mi Air Purifier 2. The air purifier is down to Rs. 8,499 (MRP Rs. 12,990) as part of the Flipkart sale. You can get an additional 10 percent cashback by paying with an Axis Bank credit or debit card. The Mi Air Purifier 2 can clean your room as quickly as 10 minutes, depending on the size of your room. It can be controlled and monitored easily using a smartphone app.

Price: Rs. 8,499 (MRP Rs. 12,990)

Lenovo K8 Plus 32GB
The Lenovo K8 Plus 32GB is a decent Android smartphone at a price point of Rs. 10,000. Currently down to Rs. 9,499 (MRP Rs. 10,999), the Lenovo K8 Plus can be paired with an exchange offer to get an additional discount of up to Rs. 9,000. The smartphone features a 5.2-inch Full HD display and comes with a dual-camera assembly at the back consisting of a 13-megapixel and 5-megapixel combination. At the front, it includes an 8-megapixel camera. It includes a 4000mAh battery which should be good enough for a full day's usage.

Price: Rs. 9,499 (MRP Rs. 10,999)

Apple iPad 9.7-inch 32GB
The iPad 9.7-inch 32GB is available again at a price of Rs. 22,900 (MRP Rs. 28,000). The iPad is powered by Apple's A9 chip, supported by 2GB of RAM, and runs iOS 10 out of the box. It comes with an 8-megapixel rear camera and includes a fingerprint sensor on the home button. There's a 1.2-megapixel front camera for video calls.

Price: Rs. 22,900 (MRP Rs. 28,000)

MSI P Core 15.6-inch gaming laptop
Another gaming laptop that's available at a discount on today's Flipkart sale is the MSI P Core 15.6-inch laptop with 8GB RAM. This variant is powered by the seventh-generation Core i7 processor, supported by 8GB of RAM and it comes with a 128GB SSD (solid state drive). It is currently priced at Rs. 54,990 (MRP Rs. 78,990). The laptop features the NVIDIA Geforce GTX 1050 graphics card with 4GB of video RAM.

Price: Rs. 54,990 (MRP Rs. 78,990)

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Ittefaq Trailer: Are Sidharth Malhotra, Sonakshi Sinha Killers? Akshaye Khanna Is On The Job

New Delhi: Actors Sidharth Malhotra, Sonakshi Sinha and Akshaye Khanna are all set to meet you with their murder-mystery drama Ittefaq. The trailer of the much-awaited film was unveiled by the makers of the film today on social media and this is something you just can't miss today. The trailer of Ittefaq starts with a dialogue "Toh hua kya kal raat ko?" by Akshaye Khanna, who features as an investigative officer in the film. In the trailer, it can be see that Maya (played by Sonakshi Sinha) gets attacked by a murderer in her own house. But, later the trailer shows that Maya is being suspected for the murder. Akshaye Khanna thinks that Maya herself welcomed Vikram (played by Sidharth) in her house and decided to lie about it.

In the two-minute trailer, it can be seen that two murders happened on one night and there are two suspects, Sonakshi and Sidharth. The trailer is quite intriguing as it tells the story from two perspectives. The story shows three sides - Vikram, Maya and the truth. 

The film is Abhay Chopra's directorial debut. Ittefaq is an adaptation of a Yash Chopra film by the same name. The 1969 film starred Rajesh Khanna, Madan Puri, Nanda and Iftekhar in the lead roles. Sidharth Malhotra has stepped into Rajesh Khanna's shoes and Nanda's role will be played by Sonakshi.

Shah Rukh Khan also shared the trailer of Ittefaq on Twitter today and wrote: "Between his truth and her truth, lies the real truth!"

Filmmaker Karan Johar also shared the trailer of Sidharth's and Sonakshi's film on Twitter. "2murders, 2suspects, 1truth mystery unravels November 3," wrote Karan Johar.

Yesterday, KJo also revealed three posters of Ittefaq, featuring the three principle characters - Sonakshi, Akshaye and Sidharth.

The film is co-produced by Red Chillies Entertainment, Dharma Productions and BR films. Ittefaq is scheduled to release on November 3.

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Google event key announcements: Pixel 2, Google Home Mini & Max, Pixelbook, Pixel Buds, and more

Today is the one-year anniversary of the original Google Pixel and Pixel XL. And what better way to celebrate Google’s first smartphones than with some great follow-ups? Google brought us quite a few goodies today, chief among them the Pixel 2 and Pixel XL. 

Without further ado, here are the key announcements from the Google event today:

Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL formally announced!

The Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL are Google’s new flagships. On the inside, the two models are essentially identical, with the same Snapdragon 835 processor and 4GB RAM. Here are the key takeways you need to know about Google’s latest flagships:

• The Pixel has a 5-inch 1080p OLED display, while the Pixel XL 2 has a larger 6-inch QHD OLED display. As rumors anticipated, the XL also offers an 18:9 display ratio, following the same ‘tall display’ trend we’ve seen from LG, Samsung, and Apple. 
• Both Pixels have ditched the headphone jack, though a dongle is included. 
• Google Assistant is still a core part of the experience, and even includes smart features for the camera.
• Pixel 2 comes in three colors: Just Black, Kinda Blue, and Clearly White. The Pixel 2 XL comes in black or a white/black option. Both phones have dual front facing speakers.
• Both phones are Daydream ready — and there’s even a new model. Cosmetically, the new Daydream View isn’t a massive departure though it is offered in a new color. The headset is $20 more expensive this time, retailing for $99. Why the price hike? One of the new changes is a wider field of view, which should provide better immersion than its predecessor. 
• Fast charging makes a return, with Google saying you can get 7 hours of charge in just 15 minutes.

• The Pixel 2 scored a 98 on the DxOMark test, the highest rating ever given. It uses a 12MP sensor with a ton of AI and machine learning features to improve the photo, reduce blur, and better low light conditions. It also has a Portrait Mode that adds bokeh to the background to make the foreground pop. OIS and EIS is available on the Pixel 2 for smoother video. They’re calling it Fused Video Stabilization. They also include a feature called Motion Photo. It takes video up to 3 seconds before the shot and then tries to make it look even more excellent. 
• Some software improvements make their way to the Pixel 2 family, including Active Edge (basically the same as the HTC U11 Edge Sense feature). They also moved the Google Search bar to the bottom. And o course Android Oreo is onboard. Even better, the Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL will get 3 years of OS platform updates.
• Pixel 2 starts at $649 for the 64GB version. The Pixel 2 XL starts at $849 for the 64GB variant. Australia, Canada, Germany, India, UK, and the US are the available countries. You can buy on Verizon, Project Fi, and unlocked. Italy, Singapore, and Spain will get releases later this year.

• Other tidbits from the event

  Obviously there was a lot said today. In order to help you recap, here’s a summary of some of the other things Google talked about during the event:
  • Google is going to continue with its AI-first philosophy. That includes better conversational, sensory, multi-device, contextual input that learns and adapts as you go. The key combination is AI, hardware, and software all working together.
  • AutoML is Google’s automated machine learning program. It is more resource efficient and accurate than pretty much anything for tasks like object detection in images. Sundar shows an example using two kids at a baseball game. One is from the Dominican Republic and the other from South Dakota, USA. They’re communicating using Google Translate. It’s adorable.
  • Google talked briefly about bringing over 2,000 HTC engineers and some IP to Google to help beef up their products.
  • There are now 55 million Chromecasts around the world. Google Assistant received 100 million new answers to the search. Google WiFi is the highest selling mesh Internet product on the market. The Google Pixel did okay too.

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Baahubali stars Prabhas and Anushka Shetty to make their relationship official?

After the stupendous success of Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, one news that never seems to sleep is Prabhas's rumoured relationship with co-star Anushka Shetty.

Of the several things, Prabhas-Anushka's crackling on-screen romance in Baahubali2 was unanimously appreciated by critics and fans. Since then, reports were rife that Prabhas was dating Anushka Shetty. So much so that the latter fired a team member for spreading baseless rumours.

According to a report in India.com, it looks like Prabhas and Anushka Shetty are likely to make their relationship official. The report further states that the couple is likely to get engaged this December. However, we await an official confirmation regarding the same.

Recently, Prabhas and Anushka were spotted partying with Bollywood diva Raveena Tandon in Hyderabad. Prabhas and Anushka Shetty have previously worked in films like Billa, Mirchi and Baahubali: The Beginning.

On the work front, Prabhas is teaming up with Sujeeth Reddy for an action adventure film titled Saaho. In fact, Anushka Shetty was supposed to be playing the leading lady. However, she was dropped from the film and was later replaced with Shraddha Kapoor.

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