Trai Directs Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel to Not Disconnect Services Despite Minimum Balance

The Telecom Regulator Trai in its latest move has directed the telecom operators not to disconnect subscribers from their incoming and outgoing calls and other network services in case they have “sufficient” prepaid account balance. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India had shown disappointment over telcos previously and had urged them to inform the subscribers well in advance, along with listing the available options before they are disconnected from the services. After receiving numerous complaints from the subscribers about how the telcos are pushing the customers to “mandatorily” recharge their accounts to keep their services running, the regulator showed its wraith over the telcos.

Telcos Directed to Not Resort to Disconnection The subscribers had complained that these messages were being sent despite them having sufficient prepaid account balance. As per a PTI report, Trai Chairman RS Sharma said about this issue, “Tariff and plans are under forbearance, and we don’t generally intervene. But if there is sufficient money in the account and despite that people are being told that the services will be disconnected, it is not correct.” The Trai Chairman also added that the regulator had issued a directive which was sent out on Tuesday. Also, earlier this week Trai met with the telecom representatives to discuss the issue at hand. In the recent directive that was sent out to the telecom operators, the telecom regulatory authority remarked that the telcos should clearly mention to the subscribers when their services are going to be disconnected, and also, they should indicate how the subscribers can opt for alternative recharge plans or minimum recharge plans using their existing prepaid account balance. The regulator urged the operators to inform the subscribers about this information through SMS immediately and not later than 72 hours. Trai had also outlined to the operators that “till such time, services of such customers who have balance in pre-paid accounts equal to minimum recharge amount, should not be discontinued”. What’s the Actual Matter? To recall, this struggle between the regulator and private telecom operators, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea emerged when the two decided to introduce minimum recharge plans for their subscribers to weed out low paying customers and to increase their average revenue per user. However, after the introduction of this service, many subscribers lodged complaints about the unfairness of this policy since a lot of subscribers were barred from receiving calls or making calls despite having sufficient prepaid account balance. The telecom operators have introduced minimum recharge plans of Rs 35, Rs 65 and Rs 95 which would avail the subscribers basic calling facilities and will keep them going.

Curved glass and stitched leather: ASUS ZenWatch powered by Android Wear

Every new Android Wear device makes it easier to match your style, and today we’re introducing another great watch into the mix: the ASUS ZenWatch!

For starters, the stitched leather strap and curved, stainless steel body make the ZenWatch both comfortable and attractive to wear. It also has a curved glass display, which provides a smooth surface for easy gestures, and a beautiful window for watch faces. Finally, the ZenWatch includes a unique set of sensors that help you keep track of your heart rate, step count, and even relaxation levels.

The ASUS ZenWatch is available to buy now for $199.99 from Google Play and Best Buy.

Android 5.1: Unwrapping a new Lollipop update

Today we are rolling out Android 5.1 - an update to Lollipop that improves stability and performance and offers a few new features like support for multiple SIM cards, Device Protection and high definition (HD) voice on compatible phones.

Whether you want to share your phone with a family member or better manage your mobile costs, Android Lollipop 5.1 now lets you use more than one SIM card on a device with multiple SIM slots.

With Device Protection, your lost or stolen device will remain locked until you sign in with your Google account - even if someone resets your device to factory settings. This feature will be available on most Android phones and tablets shipped with Android 5.1 in addition to Nexus 6 and Nexus 9.

High Definition voice calling is now on your mobile phone. Get crystal clear calling with HD Voice between compatible Android 5.1 devices like the Nexus 6 on T-Mobile or Verizon.

Android 5.1 Lollipop also provides enhancements such as the ability to join Wi-Fi networks and control of your paired Bluetooth devices directly from Quick Settings.

We hope you enjoy these tasty additions to Android Lollipop as you get more out of your Android phone and tablet.

Posted by Dave Burke, VP, Android Platform

Courtesy :

Micromax Cavas 4

         

 

The phone market in India is in the middle of a transition. People are moving from feature phones to smartphones. This means a great opportunity for smartphone makers like Micromax, which were nobody in the old market but have potential to be a major player in the new one.

In fact, Micromax is already a big smartphone company in India, at least in terms of volumes. IDC says that with a share of little over 18%, it is the second biggest company in the Indian smartphone market behind Samsung.

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One of the primary reasons behind the recent success of Micromax has been Canvas HD. The device had decent internal hardware, a nice big screen and a killer price.

Now, Micromax is opening the next chapter in the Canvas story. The company has launched Canvas 4, aka A210, which is an update to the Canvas HD. There are a lot of expectations from the device. Can it take on Samsung's Galaxy devices? Is it going to be the best value for money phone? Is it a worthy successor to Canvas HD?

We have been using the device for over a week now. Before we talk in detail, let's reveal this much: Canvas 4 is an evolution of Canvas HD. It's not the revolution that many were hoping for.

Glossy plastic with a hint of aluminium

The build quality of Canvas 4 is a notch above Canvas HD. Even though both devices use glossy plastic shells, the quality of material used in Canvas 4 is better. The back cover, which can be removed to access SIM, microSD card slots and battery, is glossy and smooth. But it has a fine pattern - similar to the one seen on some sea shells - which makes the device look premium and polished.

Another highlight of the design is the aluminium strip around the device, which not only adds to the looks of the device but also make more sturdy. The power button located on the right side and the volume rocker on the left have also been made of aluminium. It is a nice touch and a pleasant change from the plastic buttons found on most of the phones.

The screen - and three touch-sensitive buttons under it - are covered with tough Gorilla glass. This high-quality glass cover puts Canvas 4 ahead of other mainstream phones as far as look and feel is concerned.

Overall, Canvas 4 is one of the better looking mainstream phones. It is quite slim at 8.9mm and feels good in hand due to rounded edges, despite having a large 5-inch screen.

Our only complaint as far as design and build quality is concerned is the less than perfect finish. The power and volume buttons do not fit snugly and feel loose and wobbly. Similarly, there is very tiny gap between the strip of aluminium and the phone's body. The aluminum strip has The attention to details sets the big boys from pretenders and while Canvas 4 looks and feels quite good, we feel it can be better. Though to be fair to Micromax, Canvas 4 also costs less than the phones with impeccable build quality.

In terms of hardware, camera and screen deserve mention.

First the screen. For a budget phone, Canvas 4 has a fantastic screen. The resolution is still 720P (1280 x 720 pixels) but the quality of picture is much better. It can show punchy and saturated colours and brightness is higher compared to the screen on Canvas HD. The good resolution means the screen is sharp and text looks clear on it. The touch sensitivity and refresh rate too seem to be slightly better. Of course, there is still room for improvement. Black could have been a bit more darker and users may notice colour gradients if they are looking for it using a single colour image. But considering the screen on other mainstream Android devices, Canvas 4 scores high here.

The camera is the other highlight because it carries the 13MP tag. Yes, Canvas 4 can shoot images that are 13 mega pixels in size. Unfortunately, quality of the pixels that make up these images is not good. The camera captures nice colours but it seems the way the phone processes the images rob them of details. The result is that images suffer from noise as well as lack of detail. In daylight, it is possible to get usable images with Canvas HD. But in low light conditions or if you are shooting close ups, the camera performance is poor. Images that we shot in low light not only had the over-smooth effect and grain but also visible colour noise.

The camera in Canvas 4 also suffers from focus issues. If you are shooting macro or close photos of your friends, the auto focus is slow and inaccurate, especially in low light.

On videos, performance is better. The device can record decent FullHD videos and keeps subjects in focus. We would have liked to see videos recoded in MP4 format instead of 3GP that Canvas 4 uses, but for shooting clear and usable 3 or 4 minutes long clips during family picnic is possible with the device.

(Don't) Blow to unlock

Canvas 4 is powered by Android 4.2.1 aka Jelly Bean. Unlike on the previous Canvas phones, Micromax hasn't made any significant visible changes to the user interface. This means barring a few icons here and there, users get almost a stock version of Android. The default user interface of Android looks good and works well compared to some of the customized interface that phone makers love to put on their devices.

Canvas 4 performs well. There is no noticeable lag when you open the app drawer or switch between tasks. Games like Temple Run 2 can be played without any lag, web browsing is smooth even when you have five or six tabs open in the browser and FullHD videos can be watched. The speaker in the device sounds a bit low but fortunately it doesn't distort the audio the way some mainstream Android phones do. Voice quality during calls is average and we did not have any noticeable signal strength issues.

The only area of concern as far performance is concerned is GPS. Just like other Android phones sold by local manufacturers, Canvas 4 takes its own sweet time while connecting to satellites. Instead of seconds, GPS connects in minutes . This affects user experience in apps like Google Navigation.

In a bid to differentiate its phone, Micromax has equipped Canvas 4 with several gesture-based features. For example, it comes with a new video player that can pause the video if you look away from the phone. It also has features like 'blow (or shake) to unlock' which allow a user to unlock the phone by blowing air on its screen or by shaking it.

In our use, we found these features to be gimmicks. Worse, they adversely affect the experience. For example, the video pause feature is so sensitive that even if you tilt your head or move the phone a bit while watching a movie, playback is paused. The blow or shake to unlock, meanwhile, are not intuitive and user friendly. Fortunately, you can turn off these features. Disabling M! Unlock restores the swipe-to-unlock screen.

Battery life of the device is average. When used with a 3G connection, the battery in the device lasts for over 12 hours.

Should you buy it?

Barring the camera performance, Canvas 4 is a very good mainstream Android phone. In terms of looks and feel it is better than others in its category. Screen is fantastic, performance is fast and overall experience is pleasant. Unfortunately, at an MRP of Rs 17,999 it is pricey for what it offers.

Unlike Canvas HD, which brought a significantly better smartphone experience below Rs 15,000, Canvas 4 doesn't succeed in setting any new benchmarks. Yes, it is nice but then it also costs significantly more compared to Phones like Lava Iris 504Q, Zen Ultrafone 701HD and Canvas HD, which have similar hardware and performance. And unlike Samsung's Galaxy Grand phones it doesn't offer enough in terms of brand image and unique software to command a premium.

If you care for premium looks and design, you can get Canvas 4. It is a really good mainstream Android phones. But it is not the best value for money.

Specs

*5-inch capacitive touchscreen (1280 x720 pixels resolution)

*1.2GHz MediaTek 6589 quad-core processor

*PowerVR SGX 544 graphics chip

*1GB RAM

*16GB internal storage with support for up to 32GB MicroSD card

*13-megapixel camera, 1080P video recording

*5MP front-facing camera

*3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS

*Dual-sim support

*2,000mAh battery

*Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean

*158gms

Top 10 Most Evil People ever Born on Earth

The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines “evil” as “morally reprehensible: sinful, wicked; arising from actual or imputed bad character or conduct, causing harm”. An evil person is one who is perceived by people as being cruel to others, showing aggression with a motive of inflicting harm or even killing another individual. Being evil is not genetic; it most often results from the individual’s interactions with his or her environment and the experiences that one has had during one’s lifetime. Tendency of being evil may have its roots in a disturbed childhood- evil acts then serve as a means to vent out the built-up frustration and subject others to the same, torturous conditions. Another cause may be a mental aberration or illness, developed during childhood or even adulthood, which leads the individual to exhibit psychopathic behavior and hence, kill and shed blood to satiate their impulses.


Here are some of the most evil people known to have walked the Earth..


10. Katherine Mary Knight



katherine mary knight 300x197 Top 10 Most Evil People ever Born on Earth

A woman of Australian origin, Katherine had an abusive childhood. She was aware of her abusive father raping her mother upto 10 times a day. Katherine herself was a victim of sexual abuse, raped by many of her family members till she was about 11 years old. The psychiatrists have confirmed this as the origin of her psychopathic behavior.

Knight is known to have loved “slicing and dicing” men. She nearly killed her first husband by smashing his jaw and almost strangling him on the first night after marriage. She threw her newborn baby girl around in a pram, then left her on the railway tracks just minutes before the train arrived. Katherine used to sleep with her boning knives next to her, and the last man in her life, John Charles Thomas Price became a victim of this fascination of hers. She stabbed him 37 times in the back and in the chest, with many jabs passing through his vital organs. The infamous “suit” of a man’s skin was Price’s, when Knight skinned his body and hung the “suit” in her drawing room. She then cut up his body, boiled the head in a soup, baked his buttocks, and served the “meal” to his own children.



9. Joseph Mengele




A member of the Julio- Claudian dynasty, Gaius- commonly known as Caligula- was a Roman emperor from 37 AD to 41 AD. His hunger for sexual adventures was huge, and a brain fever had left him feeling that he was God. For him, murder was a fun activity. More than 150,000 animals were butchered for his amusement, early in his rule. He also ordered the murder of countless people, and made it compulsory for the victim’s family members to be audience to the murder. Caligula was a psychotic, and liked chewing the testicles of his victims. He had sexual relations with numerous women, including his own sisters. He forced men to send their wives to him for sexual pleasure. Under his rule, many people died of starvation.


8. Gaius Caesar



A member of the Julio- Claudian dynasty, Gaius- commonly known as Caligula- was a Roman emperor from 37 AD to 41 AD. His hunger for sexual adventures was huge, and a brain fever had left him feeling that he was God. For him, murder was a fun activity. More than 150,000 animals were butchered for his amusement, early in his rule. He also ordered the murder of countless people, and made it compulsory for the victim’s family members to be audience to the murder. Caligula was a psychotic, and liked chewing the testicles of his victims. He had sexual relations with numerous women, including his own sisters. He forced men to send their wives to him for sexual pleasure. Under his rule, many people died of starvation.




7. Tracey Wigginton



Also known as the “Lesbian Vampire Killer”, Wigginton is a self-claimed “human vampire”. She had an insatiable thirst for blood, and herself told the court that she survived on pig and cow blood which she would obtain from her local butcher. Her most cold-blooded murder was that of a man named, Edward Baldock, whom Tracy, her lesbian lover and two more of their female friends lured into their car on promising sexual pleasure, when the man was drunk. Tracy’s friends claim to have killed the man so that she could drink his blood. Wigginton stabbed the man countless times in the back and at the back of his neck, till he was nearly beheaded. She then drank his blood as it sprouted out of his body. Wigginton’s lesbian lover, Lisa Ptaschinski has told the court that she often used to slit her wrists so that Tracy could drink her blood.


6. Elizabeth Bathory



Another blood-crazy lady, 650 young women were reportedly killed during her reign, as Bathory had them beaten, pierced, killed and drained their blood, in which she would take a bath as she felt it made her skin softer and made her younger. Some of her most horrid acts include burning the faces of her servants with hot irons when they failed to work up to her expectation, freezing young women to death by stripping them naked on cold winter mornings and having ice-cold water poured on them, and piercing her victims with needles. Bathory used to bite the flesh of her victims, biting their faces, hands, and even private parts. Some of her victims were even forced to eat their own flesh. It is not a confirmed fact, but Bathory may have also eaten up some of her servants.


5. Ivan




Czar of Russia from 1533 to 1584, Ivan has been called one of the most evil men in history. Known to be aggressive right from childhood, he liked beating up, torturing and killing both animals and people alike. He ordered the murder of many children and forced their parents to watch the murder. He was brutal in his style and often had his victims strangled, beheaded, blinded, stabbed, hanged, buried alive, and even boiled and fried. There exist records stating that he pulled out people’s ribs using red hot pinchers. Once, in a fit of rage, he murdered his own son.



4. Saloth Sar 



More commonly known as Pol Pot. Prime Minister of Cambodia from 1976 to 1979, he is the only man in history known to have ordered a genocide against the entire country, killing about 3 million Cambodians in his rule of four years. He and his group, Khmer Rouge, took it upon him to bring ‘civilization’ to Cambodia. They shut down almost all the schools and ordered an evacuation. During his tenure, Pol has been credited with ordering the people, no matter what age, gender, class, and even pregnant women, to work in fields during the rainy the rainy season, standing in neck-deep water. As a result, their hands and feet would swell-up and bleed. People had no right to eat, and of found eating, they were flogged and even beaten to death. Pol had numerous babies killed, many of them literally “torn limb-by-limb”. Prisoners were forced to drink human urine. To top it all, Pol liked keeping the skulls of his victims, and their lives were of no value at all to him.


3. Vlad Dracula




Also known as “Dracula the Impaler”, he was the prince of Wallacha. His favorite method of torturing his victims was through impalement. He would have his victims tied up, and then impale (or insert) a blunt rod through an orifice (opening) in the body. The orifice was sometimes the stomach or abdomen, and many times, the buttocks. Vlad would order that a long rod be impaled into the buttocks of the victims, and kept being pushed in till it emerged out of the victim’s mouth. This completely damaged all internal organs and many of the people- be it men, women, or even babies- would suffer for hours or even days, and finally, bleed to death. One condition laid out by Vlad was that the rods be blunt, because if they were sharp, they would penetrate more, and the victim would die sooner and suffer lesser. He also had his wife killed and her vital organs cut off.


2. Adolf Hitler



Probably the most common image of “evil” in the common man’s mind. Leader of the Nazi party and Germany’s Fuhrer, he ordered propaganda against the Jews in Germany. All the Jews were sent to his infamous concentration camps, which were gas chambers with showerheads emitting hydrogen cyanide. But all Jews were not killed just in these gas chambers- a lot of them also perished to forced labor, starvation, poisoning, lethal injections, disease, execution and medical experiments. Hitler also had in place, a “breeding program”- any child who did not match his definition of Nazi perfection, was executed.



1. Joseph Stalin





The most evil person to have walked this Earth till date is the Soviet dictator, Joseph Stalin. An assassin and bank robber in young adulthood, Stalin was ruler from 1922 to 1953. To overcome the debt on the Soviet Union and see it emerge as the sole economic superpower, Stalin pushed his people into forced labor. Under his rule, many people were beaten to death, thousands of them gassed using mustard gas, and a lot of them killed with ice picks. Stalin even refused to trade for his son’s life, who later died in a Nazi concentration camp. His sole aim to bring the Soviet at par with the US made him care nothing for his people’s lives. He killed between 20 and 60 million people. His own wife committed suicide because of his cruel and evil practices