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1 lakh, and counting: TCS is now top employer of women

MUMBAI: In a landmark for India Inc, the number of female employees at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has crossed the one-lakh mark, making it the country's biggest employer of women in the private sector. Women now comprise one-third of the IT major's 3.06 lakh workforce. This makes TCS, also the most valued company in India, one of the top employers of women in the technology sector globally. The top slot is held by IBM, which has an estimated 1.3 lakh women out of a workforce of 4.31 lakh.

In terms of market cap, the next two players in the domestic IT market are Infosys (54,537 women employees) and Wipro (45,276) but the female workforce of TCS is more than the two combined. The IT and BPO sector collectively employs about 3.1 million, of which nearly one million are women, according to industry body Nasscom.

Micromax Canvas A1 Android One review: Humble specs but brilliant experience

Android One is Google’s big hope to get millions of unconnected Indians hooked to its ecosystem and to start off, we have three Android One devices, which have identical specs and software (with a few exclusive apps), but differ on design. That’s the only difference besides the small discounts being offered on the Rs 6,499 price. We were particularly interested in seeing the Micromax Canvas A1 and here’s what we found out when we got our hands on it.

Design and build

I have no qualms in claiming that this is the best phone Micromax has put together. It’s not a high-end specs monster, or branded as a gold phone, but the Canvas A1 feels leagues ahead of any other Micromax phone we have seen. The rubberised removable back feels smooth to the touch and adds to the solid feel. The dark chrome trim around the front is suitably reserved but shines in the right light, while the minimalist front evokes the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the first Nexus phone to eschew physical buttons. The Canvas A1 has a nice heft even though it’s not heavy or chunky by any means.

The back of the phone features a metallic bump on the top, similar to the Nokia PureView bump, but that doesn’t mean the camera is comparable (more on that later). We really like the brushed aluminium look of the camera bump, and it adds some reserved flair to the otherwise plain black handset. So plain in fact that the only branding is the chrome Micromax logo and a lowercase Android One emblazoned on the bottom beneath the circular cut-out for the speakers. The Canvas A1 is also available in the relatively more garish white and gold colours. We prefer the black one by a lot.

The front has a similar cut-out for the phone receiver and a camera next to it. The hardware buttons are bunched on the right side. The gloss black buttons are rather flat, but offer good tactile feedback. The volume rocker features a dimple in the centre to indicate the + and – sides. The 3.5mm jack is up top, with the USB port and a noise-cancellation mic on the bottom.

Display

With a 4.5-inch WVGA display, we had low expectations about the Android One series, but if the other two phones are anything like the Canvas A1, there’s no reason to be worried. Yes, one could complain that it’s not a qHD or 720p panel, but that’s not the intention of this first batch of Android One devices. The display on the Canvas A1 is more than serviceable. It looks bright, colours pack a punch without going overboard, with good viewing angles. It’s not the crispest in the world, but we don’t mind it.

The glass on the display though is something of a pain to keep clean. Perhaps Micromax should supply a micro-fibre cloth with the unit. It’s quite bad.

Performance

As budget handsets go, the A1 sets a high benchmark for performance, surpassing the Moto E quite comfortably. We think this is one of the biggest benefits of Android One and it really shines on the Canvas A1. HD games were not an issue and we rarely found the phone staggering. At times we found the recent apps screen would be slow to come up, but it only happened once or twice. There were no big stumbles.

The Canvas A1 has surprisingly good audio chops even though there’s just the one speaker on the back. The speaker is round in shape like the Nexus 5 earpiece, and gets loud enough to fill up a room. It does get slightly muffled when the phone is face up.

Features

As this is stock Android, it comes with all the bells and whistles from Google’s core ecosystem for the OS. Chrome is the default browser; Keep is pre-installed, as is the Google Play suite of apps. However, it would seem Google has allowed the vendor to add some more apps besides the stock Google apps. The Canvas A1 comes with Amazon, Askme, Hike and MLive applications pre-installed. They were the first apps we disabled, and they disappeared from the app drawer. We won’t go into too much detail about stock Android. You can read about that in our Nexus 5 review.

The biggest drawback with the Android One devices right now is that you cannot use the camera without an external microSD card. While Micromax and Karbonn are bundling 8GB cards with their Android One phone, Spice does not and it would be extra expense for the user. This limitation is crippling, if you are not interested in buying a card, and sort of forces the user to buy one. We think it’s a terrible move, and one we hope is sorted out through in a future update, possibly Android L.

Camera

This could be the biggest letdown in the phone that has all the right ingredients. Don’t get us wrong, the camera is quite good for the price tag, but we just wish it were better. The app is the Google Camera app so you get all the bells and whistles such as Lens Blur, Photospheres, Panoramas, along with HDR mode, exposure adjustment, WB adjustment and more. This is a lot of settings in a phone that retails for under Rs 6,500.

The camera captures images fast, but needs the right light for crisp shots. Most shots showed noise even when you zoom in on the handset, so they will look worse on the PC. To our mind though, most people using the Canvas A1 won’t be printing their pictures, but only sharing them on Instagram or Facebook. For which it is more than good enough. Here are a few samples.

Apple sells 10m iPhone 6 devices in three days

Apple sold more than 10m of its iPhone 6 and 6 Plus phones in the first three days of their release, surpassing its own forecasts and setting a new record for the American technology.

Tim Cook, chief executive, said on Monday that he “couldn’t be happier” about the level of demand, after millions of customers spent hours queuing in order to get their hands on the new devices as early as they possibly could. Many people camped out overnight last Thursday evening, braving thunderous rain in London, to be amongst the first in line when Apple started sellin g the new phones last Friday morning.

The new devices, which have larger screens than previous iPhone models, sold faster than any other Apple product in history. The company shipped 9m iPhone 5S and 5C mobiles within their first three days on sale, and 5m of its iPhone 5 devices in the days following its launch in 2012.

Apple unveiled the new iPhones on 12th September, and started selling them in 10 territories around the world, including the UK and America, last Friday. It will make them available in 30 countries on Friday and around 115 by the end of the year.

However, the company does not know when it will be able to sell the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in mainland China, one of its most important and fastest-growing markets. The Chinese government has not yet approved the device for sale, without giving a reason for the delay.

Some analysts have speculated that Beijing is trying to give China’s own mobile companies a head start against Apple, whilst others fear that it is cracking down on the American technology giant on the grounds that its devices could pose a security risk.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos unveils 'Fire' smartphone

Amazon.com Inc Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos unveiled a "Fire" smartphone on Wednesday equipped with a 3D-capable screen and the ability to recognise objects, music and TV shows, hoping to stand out in a crowded field dominated by Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics.

Bezos, in a rare media appearance, demonstrated three-dimensional display features on the 4.7-inch phone, such as greater depth perception in maps and pictures. Four front-facing cameras track head movements and can shift perspectives depending on a user's activity.

A "Firefly" feature allows users to point the phone at an object, such as a product, or direct it to listen to a song. If the device recognizes it, the user can buy it on Amazon.com if it is sold there.

Shares of Amazon climbed 2.5 per cent to $333.67 in afternoon trading from roughly flat before Bezos took the stage.

"What if there were a thousand artists standing by to redraw the picture every time you moved your head," Bezos asked hundreds of Amazon customers, reporters and industry executives gathered in Seattle for the unveiling.

The smartphone joins Amazon's "Fire" lineup of tablets and streaming devices. It represents the latest attempt to extend its dominance of online commerce into mobile phones, which are increasingly being used to buy items and view video.

It is unclear how "Firefly" or the 3D-perspectives will function in the real world, or how fickle consumers will take to them.

Industry insiders had expected the "Fire" to be far less expensive than the top-selling iPhone and Galaxy devices, after the company sold its Kindle Fire tablets at cost.

Amazon is selling the Fire smartphone on its website for $649 without a contract. From July 25, a 32-gigabyte storage version will sell for $199.99 with a two-year contract on exclusive carrier AT&T Inc. These prices are comparable to the iPhone 5C, though it has superior displays and other features.

The Fire smartphone represents a new area for Amazon, which got its start selling books and has expanded into everything from cameras to grocery delivery. It could also boost adoption of a payments platform.

The Fire is the third device Amazon has introduced this year, after its FireTV streaming device and Dash grocery-ordering wand. In recent years, the company has moved more aggressively into hardware, selling its devices at cost to spur purchases on its website.

Its entry into the smartphone market reflects the growing trend among consumers to view and buy items online. Mobile commerce grew at almost twice the rate of online retail during the first quarter, according to comScore.

Panasonic P81 is a power-packed phablet

Panasonic P 81 
Price: Rs 18,999
Specs: 5.5-inch IPS (1280x720 pixels), 1.7GHz MediaTek octa-core processor, 1GB RAM, 8GB + microSD slot, 13 MP + 5 MP camera, dual SIM, Android 4.2, 2500mAh battery

With so much happening in the smartphone space, Panasonic isn't staying quiet. Focusing on Android smartphones for some time now, the Japanese electronics giant has now launched a phablet priced at under Rs 20,000.

The Panasonic P81 has got a 5.5-inch display, with a 1280x720 pixel resolution. Irrespective of its size, the 7.9mm thickness makes it slightly convenient to hold. The faux leather back panel makes for a comfortable grip. The leather finish, however, isn't premium. Overall, the phone feels light to hold and offers good viewing angles. Watching multimedia was good as other than good viewing angles, it offered great sound too.

Running on Android 4.1, this isn't a vanilla Android phablet as Panasonic has customised the interface. Features such as gesture commands, pop-up video player, built-in call recorder, Play More apps, etc., add utility value to this device.

In an effort to make it a sub-Rs 20,000 phablet, Panasonic has gone ahead with the MediaTek chipset. This one is powered by the true octa-core processor. It has got a 1.7 GHz chipset and is paired with 1GB of RAM. While the P81 manages to run all the day to day tasks with ease, it did lag a couple of times with multiple heavy apps running in the background.

Panasonic has added a 13 MP rear camera, which is a good deal at this price. While it might not stand against the results obtained by the cameras added on the flagship Samsung and Sony smartphones, the images captured were sharp and impressive. However, there weren't many modes to play around with. A slightly evolved camera software would have been better.

To back up this power-packed performance, Panasonic has also added a 2500 mAh battery to the P81 that lasted over a day and a half with heavy usage.

Bag it or Junk it: Panasonic P81 performs, without many glitches
Rating: 4/5

BlackBerry to shut down music, video sections from July 21

Canadian handset maker BlackBerry on Thursday said it will shut down the music and video sections on its app store, BlackBerry World from July 21.

The announcement comes close on the heels of BlackBerry's partnership with Amazon to make240,000 Android apps available to its users.

"While BlackBerry World will continue to offer music and video services via third party applications -- again giving you more choices for your valued content -- we will be closing the music and video sections of our store on July 21st," it said on its blogpost.

It added that previously downloaded content will be available after that date through MyWorld (user account under BlackBerry World).

"Users will be able to access video and music services through a number of popular third party services available through the Amazon Appstore and BlackBerry World," it said.

Under the licensing agreement with Amazon announced yesterday for the Amazon Appstore, users will have access to more than 200,000 Android apps when the Waterloo-based firm introduces its latest BlackBerry 10.3 operating system later this year.

This would mean BlackBerry users will finally have access to popular apps like Groupon, Netflix, Pinterest, Candy Crush Saga and Minecraft.

Along with access to Amazon Appstore, the company will continue to offer BlackBerry World.

On Wednesday, the firm said it has entered into a licensing deal with Amazon, which will give BlackBerry 10 users access to 240,000 android apps on the e-commerce giant's app store, a move aimed at boosting the sales of its latest smartphone.