Whatsapp is ending !!

WhatsApp Support Ends in 2016 For BlackBerry, Nokia S40, Nokia Symbian S60

WhatsApp, the IM app used by more than 1 Billion people worldwide, has announced end of support to some of the currently less popular platforms. In a blog post WhatsApp has announced that by the year 2016 end it will stop providing support to following platforms:

• BlackBerry, including BlackBerry 10
• Nokia S40
• Nokia Symbian S60
• Android 2.1 and Android 2.2
• Windows Phone 7.1

 

So this announcement will affect following phones :
All BlackBerry smartphones and all Windows 7.1 smartphones
Nokia Series 40 phones
Nokia C3-00 · Nokia C3-01 · Nokia X2-01 · Nokia X3-02 · Nokia X3-02.5 (Refresh) · Nokia X2-00
Nokia Asha: 201 · 205 Chat Edition · 206 · 208 · 210 · 300 · 301 · 302 · 303 · 305 · 306 · 308 · 309 · 310 · 311 · 515 · 500 · 501 · 502 · 503 · 230
Nokia Symbian phones

• Symbian: X7 · E6 · N8 · C6 · C7 · E7 · 500 · 600 · 603 · 700 · 701 · 808
• S60 5th edition: Nokia 5800 · Nokia 5530 · Nokia 5230 · Nokia 5233 · Nokia 5235 · Nokia N97 · Nokia N97 mini · Nokia X6 · Nokia X5-01 · Nokia C6 · Nokia C5-03 · Samsung i8910 Omnia HD · Sony Ericsson Satio · Sony Ericsson Vivaz · Sony Ericsson Vivaz Pro
• S60 3rd edition: Nokia 5700 · Nokia 6110 · Nokia 6120 · Nokia 6121 · Nokia 6124 · Nokia 6700 · Nokia 6290 · Nokia E51 · Nokia E63 · Nokia E66 · Nokia E71 · Nokia E90 Communicator · Nokia N76 · Nokia N81 · Nokia N81 8GB · Nokia N82 · Nokia N95 · Nokia N95 8GB · Nokia 5320 · Nokia 5630 · Nokia 5730 · Nokia 6210 · Nokia 6220 · Nokia 6650 fold · Nokia 6710 Navigator · Nokia 6720 · Nokia 6730 · Nokia 6760 Slide · Nokia 6790 Surge · Nokia C5 · Nokia E52 · Nokia E55 · Nokia E72 · Nokia E73 · Nokia E75 · Nokia E5 · Nokia N78 · Nokia N79 · Nokia N85 · Nokia N86 8MP · Nokia N96 · Samsung GT-i8510 · Samsung GT-I7110 · Samsung SGH-L870 · Samsung SGH-G810 · Samsung SGH-iNNN

From their blog post :
Earlier this week WhatsApp turned seven years old. It has been an amazing journey and in the coming months we’re putting an even greater emphasis on security features and more ways to stay in touch with the people that you care about.
But anniversary dates are also an opportunity to look back. When we started WhatsApp in 2009, people’s use of mobile devices looked very different from today. The Apple App Store was only a few months old. About 70 percent of smartphones sold at the time had operating systems offered by BlackBerry and Nokia. Mobile operating systems offered by Google, Apple and Microsoft – which account for 99.5 percent of sales today – were on less than 25 percent of mobile devices sold at the time.
As we look ahead to our next seven years, we want to focus our efforts on the mobile platforms the vast majority of people use. So, by the end of 2016, we will be ending support for WhatsApp Messenger on the following mobile platforms:
BlackBerry, including BlackBerry 10
Nokia S40
Nokia Symbian S60
Android 2.1 and Android 2.2
Windows Phone 7.1
While these mobile devices have been an important part of our story, they don’t offer the kind of capabilities we need to expand our app’s features in the future.
This was a tough decision for us to make, but the right one in order to give people better ways to keep in touch with friends, family, and loved ones using WhatsApp. If you use one of these affected mobile devices, we recommend upgrading to a newer Android, iPhone, or Windows Phone before the end of 2016 to continue using WhatsApp.

Android N screenshot leaked !!!

First Android N Screenshot Leak Shows Hamburger Menu In Settings App 

One of the arguably biggest efforts pulled off by Google in recent times is its massive visual facelift that goes by the name of ‘Material Design‘.  Among the most prominent concrete examples of its practical application, Android certainly stands out, and in Google’s commitment towards bringing a more unified and consistent looking OS, the company may be taking things a step further by the time Android N lands.

 

 In a report from Android Police, the publication independently confirmed that screenshots found on the Android Developers blog post about Android Support Library v23.2 are coming from a yet-unreleased version of the OS, which seems to be implementing the famous hamburger menu inside the Settings app.

  In addition to that, the two posted screenshots show an almost identical layout, taken from the Bluetooth settings panel, with the only difference being a dark background in one of the shots. Although they were only meant to show the new “Day/Night Theme,” they could further corroborate previous reports that claimed such a feature was being revitalized as a system-wide characteristic of Marshmallow‘s successor.
 

Source : AndroidPolice

Freedom 251 !!! Returning Money !!!

Ringing Bells, the makers of the controversial "Freedom 251" smartphone, has reportedly claimed to have paid back the money it generated from the first 30,000 pre-booking orders on the first day of the sale this month.

Mohit Goel, managing director of the Noida-based company, has claimed that the money of all 30,000 customers has been refunded and the company will now accept cash on delivery only, according to news channel ABP News.

Ringing Bells had received 30,000 orders on the first day and the rest of the customers will be selected on first-come-first-serve basis as the company received a mammoth over seven crore registrations.

Earlier on Friday, Ringing Bells president Ashok Chadha had announced that the Rs.251 (less than $4) "Freedom 251" smartphone customers will be required to make payment only when the smartphone is delivered to them.

"The company has decided that we will, henceforth, offer 'cash on delivery' mode of payments for those who have placed an order for the 'Freedom 251' smartphone. This will ensure further transparency and clear any misgivings," Chadha said in a statement.

The company plans to give 25 lakh handsets in the first phase before June 30.

Ringing Bells has been facing an FIR and defamation suit amid serious questions being raised over the world's cheapest smartphone.

The Noida-based startup claims to have tied up with the payment gateway provider PayUbiz so that it receives payment only on the submission of proof of delivery (POD) to the payment gateway.

"Our humble beginning to provide a high-tech gadget that will benefit all in the hinterlands and bridge the huge gap that clearly exists between the metros and semi-urban/rural areas is in keeping with the government's initiatives," Chadha said.

However, Noida-based data centre and BPO Cyfuture, said on Friday they were set to file an FIR against Ringing Bells and deliberating on filing a defamation suit too.

According to Anuj Bairathi, Cyfuture founder and CEO, they met Vishwajeet Srivastava, Gautam Budh Nagar Superintendent of Police (crime branch), who looked into the matter and assured them of a suitable course of action.

"After deciding to file an FIR for fraud and non-payment of dues, we are now thinking to file a defamation suit against Ringing Bells as their allegation of non-performance has tarnished our image," Bairathi told IANS.

Taking the world by surprise, Ringing Bells launched "Freedom 251" smartphone that, it said, has been developed "with immense support" from the government.

As the makers of the smartphone went gaga over being part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Make in India" and "Digital India" initiatives in the last few days, a top government official clarified on Thursday that the government has nothing to do with the "Freedom 251" smartphone.

"This is not a government project. 'Make in India' team has nothing to do with this," wrote Amitabh Kant, secretary of the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP), in a Twitter post.

What's gonna be the next move for Freedom 251 phone.

Project Ara - Failure or Success?

Project Ara

 

 

LEGO doesn’t make phones, but if it did, it would probably make something very like Project Ara. But what is Project Ara? Instead of buying a phone that’s obsolete within a matter of months, Ara proposes that you buy a modular design instead. When one part gets old or a better version appears, you just swap the old component for a new one. It sounds great, but will it work? Find out everything you need to know about Project Ara right here.   

 

Project Ara delay

A recent tweet from the Project Ara team confirmed that Puerto Rico would no longer be the location of the Project Ara Pilot. It has now also been revealed that the initial launch has been postponed until 2016. 
The reason for the change in location isn't exactly clear, but the delay is said to have been caused by the development of "lots of iterations" of the device, and is probably because Project Ara has now abandoned the electromagnetic design of its modules.  
This had, for a long time, been the intended way to attach and detach modules from the body of the device, but it was hinted that the device's structural integrity wasn't holding up in drop tests, so another design route is now being pursued.

Should I be excited about Project Ara?

Cautiously, yes. If it delivers on its promises you could see the equivalent of the Google Play Store for smartphone hardware as well as apps. A phone that never becomes obsolete, that doesn’t require really expensive replacements every year or two and that can be repaired for pennies is a great idea, and the customization options are effectively limitless. If you want a device that’s truly your own, Ara promises to be the ultimate way of creating it.
That said, if Ara was Android we’d still be in the days of Android Astro Boy, Bender and R2-D2: a system with lots of potential that isn’t remotely ready for prime time. It arguably took Android four years to really hit its stride (with Ice Cream Sandwich, AKA Android 4.0), and getting the hardware equivalent right might take even longer. If Ara works it could revolutionize mobile computing. It just probably won’t do it in 2015.
What do you think of Project Ara? Are you looking forward to modular phones?

You are going to decide, Its success or failure?