Facebook has come up with a Plan B for bringing the internet to India

India already chose free and open internet over what Facebook had to offer once. But second time’s the charm, right?

Facebook is launching ‘Express Wi-Fi,’ a program that will allow customers to purchase low-cost data packages from their local internet service provider to access the fast internet via local hotspots. Although the company has not announced a commercial rollout date, it has already tested a pilot version with 125 rural wifi hotspots,“We are currently in the early stages of testing Express Wi-Fi with multiple local ISP partners in India,” a Facebook spokesperson told Quartz.

The social media giant’s last outing in India was met with heavy backlash. its free service launched in February 2015 ,irked net neutrality supporters by limiting access to sites handpicked by Facebook—the opposition left CEO Mark Zuckerberg befuddled. A year after its release, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) put an end to the initiative. With its latest attempt to re-enter the Indian market, Facebook has removed this point of contention by ditching selective access altogether.

With user growth in US and Europe stalling, the company has to focus its efforts beyond the west. Second only to the US with 142 million monthly active users, India is a prime market for Facebook. “India is a country with tremendous potential in terms of new users,” Erna Alfred Liousas, a social media analyst at Forrester, told Quartz. “Since Express Wi-Fi isn’t stipulating which sites users can access, and isn’t free, hopefully they’ll receive a more favorable reception.”

Low internet speeds, weak infrastructure, and a lack of consumer trust are among Facebook’s challenges in a region like India. It faces another big threat: competition. “Google, Facebook, Amazon and many others (Uber, Alibaba, etc) are focusing attention on ‘the next billion’ users to come online in emerging markets as a huge opportunity,” Deutsche Bank analyst Ross Sandler wrote in an investor note in July.

Google even got a head start. In September 2015, the search giant announced plans to offer free high speed wifi in 400 railway stations across the country—at no cost—and by last month, the service was already active in 19 stations with 1.5 million people using the service.

If Facebook manages to provide internet services under its brand name in India, more people will likely become acquainted with and join the social network. Or at least that’s the plan.

Reliance Lyf Flame 8

Lyf Flame 8:

Lyf Flame 8 smartphone was launched in August 2016. The phone comes with a 4.50-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 480 pixels by 854 pixels at a PPI of 218 pixels per inch. 

The Lyf Flame 8 is powered by 1.1GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 MSM8909 processor and it comes with 1GB of RAM. The phone packs 8GB of internal storage that can be expanded up to 128GB via a microSD card. As far as the cameras are concerned, the Lyf Flame 8 packs a 8-megapixel primary camera on the rear and a 5-megapixel front shooter for selfies. 

The Lyf Flame 8 runs Android 5.1 and is powered by a 2000mAh removable battery. It measures 132.60 x 66.20 x 9.30 (height x width x thickness) and weighs 138.00 grams. 

The Lyf Flame 8 is a dual SIM (GSM and GSM) smartphone that accepts two Micro-SIM. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, FM, 3G, 4G (with support for Band 40 used by some LTE networks in India). Sensors on the phone include Proximity sensor, Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer, and Gyroscope. 

About Lyf

Lyf is Reliance Retail's brand of smartphones that was launched in India in 2016. The brand marked the company's entry into the 4G smartphone market in India. All Lyf smartphones launched as of 2016 run Google's Android operating system. The company launched smartphones under four sub-brands - Earth, Water, Wind, and Flame.

GENERAL

Release date	August 2016
Form factor	Touchscreen
Dimensions (mm)	132.60 x 66.20 x 9.30
Weight (g)	138.00
Battery capacity (mAh)	2000
Removable battery	Yes
Colours	Black, White
SAR value	NA

DISPLAY

Screen size (inches)	4.50
Touchscreen	Yes
Resolution	480x854 pixels
Pixels per inch (PPI)	218

HARDWARE

Processor	1.1GHz  quad-core
Processor make	Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 MSM8909
RAM	1GB
Internal storage	8GB
Expandable storage	Yes
Expandable storage type	microSD
Expandable storage up to (GB)	128

CAMERA

Rear camera	8-megapixel
Flash	Yes
Front camera	5-megapixel

SOFTWARE

Operating System

Android 5.1

CONNECTIVITY

Wi-Fi	Yes
Wi-Fi standards supported	NA
GPS	Yes
Bluetooth	Yes
NFC	No
Infrared	No
USB OTG	No
Headphones	3.5mm
FM	Yes
Number of SIMs	2
SIM 1
SIM Type	Micro-SIM
GSM/ CDMA	GSM
3G	Yes
4G/ LTE	Yes
Supports 4G in India (Band 40)	Yes
SIM 2
SIM Type	Micro-SIM
GSM/ CDMA	GSM
3G	Yes
4G/ LTE	No

SENSORS

Compass/ Magnetometer	No
Proximity sensor	Yes
Accelerometer	Yes
Ambient light sensor	Yes
Gyroscope	Yes
Barometer	No
Temperature sensor	No

LG V20 Leaked Renders Tip Dual Camera Setup, Modular Chin

LG V20 Leaked Renders Tip Dual Camera Setup, Modular Chin:

LG is hosting an event on September 6 in San Francisco where it is set to unveil the V20 smartphone. There not even a month left for the launch, and leaked renders of the LG V20 have surfaced online. The images show the V20 from all angles, giving us a comprehensive understanding of all the things that are new on the smartphone.

The biggest change is the addition of the modular chin at the bottom, just like the LG G5. The module-release button is also seen placed on the LG V20, affirming that the chin can be removed and replaced with other mods. LG's first attempt with a modular smartphone, the G5, appears to have backfired, with its poor sales performance affected LG's revenue figures heavily, attracting losses of roughly $132 million for the last quarter. LG hopes to revive the numbers in the next quarter with the LG V20 launch in September.

At the back, the LG V10 successor sports a dual camera setup with the fingerprint scanner housed right below it. The bezels at the front remain thin, and there is only one front camera sitting on the extreme left this time. The leaked images by Onleaks and Android Authority show a USB Type-C port, 3.5mm audio jack, and speaker grille housed at the bottom, while volume buttons are on the top left. The power button rests on top of the LG V20.

Of course, there is no official photograph from LG, so these leaked renders should be taken with a pinch of salt till official confirmation.

What we know for sure, is that LG has claimed the V20 will be the first smartphone to run Android 7.0 Nougat out-of-the-box. Nougat, based on developer previews, is expected to come with several new features like multi-window support, enhanced notifications, revamped doze, number blocking, and a redesigned Camera app. The app will get more Grid options, and resurrect the much-missed manual exposure mode. Google was expected to release the final public version on August 5, but that didn't happen.

Samsung Pay Service Reportedly Open to Hacking; Samsung Responds

Samsung Pay Service Reportedly Open to Hacking; Samsung Responds:

in a presentation given at Defcon, an ethical hacker named Salvador Mendoza highlighted what he believed to be major vulnerabilities associated with the Samsung Pay mobile payment service. He claims that the Samsung Pay service can be misused if payment tokens are skimmed. Samsung has responded to claims made by Mendoza, and has said that even though it is possible to exploit the vulnerability, it is an extremely difficult task to pull off.

In his presentation, Mendoza has shown how the payment tokens that are generated during the usage of Samsung Pay can be intercepted or (less credibly) even be fabricated by hackers to exploit users of Samsung's mobile payment service.

Mendoza's presentation showed how the payment tokens can be skimmed or intercepted. Tokens are sent from the mobile device to the payment terminal, implying the hacker needs to be standing close by. Since the tokens are single-use only, and expire within 24 hours, the payment will need to be halted after authentication for the token to remain valid and be misused. He even claims that the payment token generated by the South Korean company can be hypothetically figured out, and then used to develop tokens that can make purchases. However, Mendoza does not say he was able to generate any fake tokens himself.

Samsung in an FAQ responds to Mendoza's Defcon presentation says that "token skimming" can be exploited, however, "multiple difficult conditions must be met", which include close proximity to the user - as MST is a very short range communication system. The hacker will also have to either jam the signal before it reaches the payment terminal for the token to remain usable, or, somehow trick the user to stop the transaction after authentication. If despite all this, a hacker manages to get hold of a usable payment token, as soon as a transaction is made with it, the user will be notified on the associated smartphone - allowing them to alert authorities. As The Verge points out however, the entire process could be as simple as "setting up a fake payment terminal in a shop."

The company has further clarified that the entire process of stealing and using payment tokens can apply to other payment systems as well - something that Mendoza himself admits to ZDNet - such as debit, credit, and payment cards.

As for the claim that hackers will be able to generate their own Samsung Pay payment tokens after analysing patterns, Samsung responded by saying, "It is important to note that Samsung Pay does not use the algorithm claimed in the Black Hat presentation to encrypt payment credentials or generate cryptograms."

'I Feel Safe' Women's Safety App Launched

'I Feel Safe' Women's Safety App Launched:

A mobile application "I Feel Safe" aimed at helping women ensure their safety in the national capital was launched at Delhi University on Tuesday.

"For centuries, women in India have suffered social strictures and abuse. It is important to change societal mindsets so that every girl of our country receives the respect which is her due and shines in life in her chosen field be it science, engineering, medicine, sports, dance, music or any other field of human endeavour," Union Minister Harsh Vardhan said.

The mobile app, powered by Nirbhaya Jyoti Trust, is a personal safety application for smartphone users developed in association with Mobile Standards Alliance of India.

The app instantly adds a virtual panic button. Mobile phone owners can simply press the "Safety Ka Power Button" five times to activate an alarm.

The app does not need to be invoked for the safety alarm feature to work and works even if the screen of the phone is locked, the SIM card has been removed, no Wi-Fi networks are available and without the need to subscribe to a data plan.

The app works across India on all mobile networks and sends near real-time updates about the location of the mobile user.

"I appreciate the support and motivation that the youth of this country and the government have given to Nirbhaya Jyoti Trust and the cause of Indian women in the last four years.

It is my fervent wish that every girl should be able to live a wholesome life and step out of home without the fear of molestation and violence," Nirbhaya's mother Asha Devi said.

In an emergency, the app notifies the user's emergency contacts with the longitude and latitude of their current location.

It places an automatic call to the national emergency number 100 and the location of the potential victim is tracked every 30 seconds and made available to their emergency contacts, emergency call centre team, who then reach out to provide support, to overcome the emergency situation.

Maharashtra Government to Deploy Drones to Monitor Traffic

Maharashtra Government to Deploy Drones to Monitor Traffic:

Maharashtra government is considering the use of drones to monitor, identify and control vehicles breaking traffic rules.

Minister of State for Home (Urban) Deepak Kesarkar said initially, drones would be put in place on a pilot basis on the Mumbai-Pune expressway.

A meeting was held between officials of the Home department and Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation earlier this week at the Mantralaya in Mumbai, which was attended by Kesarkar and PWD (undertakings) minister Eknath Shinde.

Kesarkar said Mumbai-Pune expressway has become a "death trap" with a large number of road casualties reported lately.

"Incidents of road accidents have increased due to indiscipline and rash driving. We do not have control over rash driving as the length of the express way is long and there is insufficient police staff for surveillance," Kesarkar said.

He said while there is a need to control vehicular traffic, doing so by using a CCTV camera has its own limitations. Thus, the idea of using drones has been mooted.

"The drones will be used at load line of the 'ghat' on expressway where setting up of CCTV cameras is not possible," he said.

"Mostly heavy loaded trucks jump lanes to overtake other big vehicles. This causes a traffic jam. The drones would click photos of such instances and the the Transport department will take action against errant drivers," he added.

The minister said that even small vehicles would not be spared if found violating lane discipline.

He said the site of using drones has not been decided as yet but the MSRDC would submit its report suggesting requirement within the next 15 days.

"Initially, four to five drone will be hired from private companies for the expressway. Depending upon the result, the Home department is considering to use drones across Mumbai," he said.

Along with CCTVs, usage of drones in the island city would take the burden of traffic police riddled with various woes, Kesarkar said.

Pokemon Booted Out of French World War I Memorial

Pokemon Booted Out of French World War I Memorial

A French World War I memorial has been removed from Pokemon Go following complaints about players gathering to do battle at a site containing the remains of 130,000 soldiers, the site's management said.

The Douaumont ossuary in northeast France contains the remains of some of the more than 300,000 French and German soldiers who died in the Battle of Verdun, one of the bloodiest of the 1914-18 conflict.

In 1984, then French president Francois Mitterrand visited the site with West German chancellor Helmut Kohl, with the pair joining hands to symbolise their countries' post-war reconciliation.

Both the underground ossuary and the plaque commemorating the Mitterrand-Kohl handshake featured in the Pokemon Go smartphone app until last weekend when the game's creator Niantic removed them at the site's request, Douaumount spokeswoman Elodie Farcage said.

The ossuary had been the location of a Pokemon "gym", where rival teams do battle, while the plaque was a Pokestop, where players could collect virtual items.

A spokeswoman for the nearby Verdun Memorial said it too was listed as a Pokemon gym. "But we have no Internet network here so the players cannot use it," Emeline Villeseche said.

The nearby village of Fleury-devant-Douaumont, which was destroyed during the war, also features in the app.

The mayor of the area told AFP he would ask Niantic to remove it.

The French battlefields are not the first memorials to send players of the global sensation packing.

Washington's Holocaust Museum and Arlington National Cemetery have also asked visitors to show respect for the dead by refraining from playing the game there.