TECHNOLOGY
Spotify acquires startup Podz to boost podcast experience
Spotify said that it acquired Podz, a small, talented team of entrepreneurs, engineers and designers, to help make the experience even better. Powered by state-of-the-art machine learning technology, Podz generates high-quality clips that give users the opportunity to preview key moments from podcast episodes, encouraging them to discover and listen to new podcasts.
Instagram rolls out full screen, 30-second ads in Reels
The ads will be full-screen, looping and up to 30-second long and will appear in between other clips. "Reels ads will be full screen and vertical, similar to ads in Stories, and will appear in between individual Reels. As with regular Reels content, these ads will loop and can be up to 30 seconds. People can comment, like, view, save and share Reels ads," Instagram said in a statement late on Thursday.
Sale of pre-owned phones on rise in India amid pandemic: Report
The report, by re-commerce marketplace Cashify, is based on a survey of nearly 4,000 people in the country. No-cost EMI option, replacement warranty, and contactless delivery were identified as the top criteria for the purchase of refurbished gadgets. About 50 per cent of people chose affordability as a primary reason for buying refurbished gadgets instead of brand new ones.
realme's TechLife brand DIZO partners with Flipkart
With this partnership, DIZO will make these four categories of products -- Smart Entertainment, Smart Home, Smart Care and Accessories -- available on Flipkart. "DIZO wishes to offer its technology to consumers beyond just metros and bring within its ambit those living in India's smaller towns and cities," the company said in a statement.
Nadella, Pichai boost Indian tech prowess on world map
With Microsoft now electing CEO Satya Nadella as also the Chairman -- a first in two decades after the legendary Bill Gates, who has now retired from both the positions -- the Pichai-Nadella duo is now the flag bearer of a talent powerhouse, as new faces join the high-profile league of businesses led by Indian-origin tech honchos.
Can OnePlus-OPPO take on market leader Xiaomi in India?
For Q1 2021, OPPO grew 12 per cent (on-year) and had an 11 per cent market share in India. OnePlus grew more than 300 per cent (YoY) in the same period, driven by the OnePlus Nord and OnePlus 8T shipments, in the country, according to Counterpoint Research. OPPO's affordable A15 series featured in the highest shipped models nationally, along with newly launched 5G models accounting for 8 per cent of OPPO's shipments, says the IDC.
India's online casual gaming segment to grow at 29% CAGR
The online gaming segment has grown at a rapid pace in the last 3-4 years and is now competing with traditional forms of entertainment for the share of time spent on media and entertainment in a day. While the Covid-19 induced lockdowns had an adverse impact on the economy and traditional segments of the M&E industry, online gaming as a segment got a leg up in terms of both consumption and partly, monetisation.
Amazon to cut its Appstore share to help small developers
After Apple and Google, Amazon has now announced to let small developers earn more by reducing its cut in Appstore revenue. Starting in Q4, for developers that earn less than $1 million in revenue in the previous calendar year, Amazon said it is increasing developer revenue share and adding AWS (Amazon Web Services) credit options. This will bring total programme benefits up to an equivalent of 90 percent of revenue.
After Apple, FB set to launch podcast feature on June 22
The social media network is also likely to add a new feature that will allow listeners to create clips from their favourite shows. According to an email sent to podcast page owners and viewed by The Verge, hosts can link their show's RSS feed up to Facebook, which will then automatically generate News Feed posts for all episodes published moving forward.
Truecaller adds Group Calling, Smart SMS features
All of them are based on user feedback and are designed to cater to the evolving needs of the consumers, Truecaller said. "With Group Voice Calling, Smart SMS and Inbox Cleaner, I am hopeful that the consumers will be able to operate more effectively given the benefits of staying connected, using messaging service smartly to stay on top of important information," Rishit Jhunjhunwala, MD India, Truecaller, said in a statement.
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