Yota Devices, the Russian company popular for its dual-display YotaPhone, is all set to launch its first device in India, available exclusively via Flipkart.

The smartphone, which was unveiled at Mobile World Congress last year, created quite the buzz as its features two displays —an LCD primary display and an E-Ink secondary display. The latter is always on and can be used to show notifications, weather, social media updates, calendar reminders, as well as reading e-books.

Specifications of YotaPhone are -

• Display – 4.3-inch HD
• Resolution – 640×360 pixels
• Processor – 1.7GHz Dual Core Snapdragon 400
• RAM – 2GB
• Internal Storage – 32GB
• Rear Camera – 13-megapixel with LED flash
• Front Camera – 1 megapixel
• OS – Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
• Battery – 1800 mAh

Dubai-based Tupelo has launched its mymo fitness tracker in India. While the market is mostly offering fitness trackers in the form of smartwatches or wrist bands, Tupelo’s mymo is a coin-sized device that can be clipped on to your shirt, trouser pockets or belt. The device works even if its kept inside pockets.

Tupelo chief executive Martyn Molnar said -

“Our research showed a 85% dropout rate in the first few weeks of buying a wearable device due to a lack of motivation. As people need incentives to incorporate activity into their daily schedule, Mymo provides the incentive to stay engaged. We reward our users for being active and keep them motivated to achieve their fitness goals.”

It tracks users’ steps, distance, and calories wirelessly via Bluetooth 4.0 on an iPhone, Android smartphone, or via the computer to motivate users to achieve their fitness goals. Mymo activity tracker has been designed in Germany and it is claimed to have six months battery life and it is vey easy to replace the battery. This is water-resistant tracker andclips conveniently on to your belt loop, jacket, or shirt and is available in 6 different colours.

Samsung, Nokia, LG and the mobile industry in general must have breathed a collective sigh of relief this weekend as Evan “EvLeaks” Bass announced that he was to retire from posting pre-release leaked tech info and photos to the web.

Prolific leaker evleaks is calling it quits after two years of tweeting highly accurate information. His real name is Evan Blass. Originally, the tips from @evleaks were anonymous. But in July 2013, Blass revealed his identity. He started in 2005 as an editor at Engadget and worked his way up to Senior Editor. A three-year stint at Pocketnow as a Managing Editor, ended in 2012.

Evan Blass sais in an interview -

“These matters are always somewhat complicated, but like many things, it mostly comes down to money. Trying to monetize a stream of Twitter leaks is not easy. First I tried monthly sponsorships. Then weekly. Then single sponsored tweets. I took donations — felt like online panhandling.

I also started a website, and it’s actually done somewhat respectably, but with all the leaks going out on Twitter anyway, people have little incentive to visit, and most of my tech-savvy-heavy audience seem to be pretty heavy ad-block users, as well. It all adds up to an unsustainable living, and with a progressively worsening disease, I need to make sure I can prepare myself better for the future, financially.”

Marco Polo app, created by designer and developer Matt Wiechec based in Toronto, can help you find your misplaced smartphone by allowing your device to respond when you shout, giving you clues to its location.

When using the Marco Polo app, users can find their hidden device by shouting “Marco!” loudly. It will respond “Polo!,” so they know where to look for it.

Marco Polo is an alternative to Find My iPhone, which gives you the general location of your phone, but doesn’t really tell you exactly where your phone is. You can use Find My iPhone to get the general location of your phone; you know, just to make sure your phone is actually in the location you think it is. You could then use Marco Polo to pinpoint exactly where your phone is, whether it be at your house, at the park, or even at the grocery store.

You can also customize the settings and type in a word other than “Marco” — mine has already been customized to respond to an expletive because I call my phone names whenever I lose it. The app comes with 30 voice options, and the choice to create your own custom keyword for your phone to respond to. This is especially handy if you have several Apple gadgets, as it eliminates confusion over which device you want to find.

The ‘Marco Polo’ app is available for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. and can be downloaded from the Apple Store for $0.99.

Google is building a fleet of electric-powered self-driving cars that it plans to begin testing by the end of the year. It is coming with conventional controls including the steering wheel, and says it will build 100 of the vehicles for testing.

Chris Urmson, director of Google’s self-driving car project, said -

“The aim was to run extended tests in California where Google is based. It is an important step toward improving road safety and transforming mobility for millions of people”.

The toy-like concept vehicle has two seats, a screen displaying the route and a top speed of 25mph (40km/h). An array of sensors allows the vehicle’s computer to determine its location and surroundings and it can see several hundred metres. Google said its testing had suggested it was safer to remove conventional controls altogether because the results of a human having to take over safely and suddenly were unpredictable and potentially dangerous. This car should be road ready by early next year.

New Microsoft boss Satya Nadella is set to unveil the firm’s latest attempt to take on the iPad next week – despite two previous models flopping.

Microsoft is expected to unveil the third generation of its Surface devices at an event on Tuesday, laying hints that it will also introduce a smaller tablet, to address the fast-selling lower end of the market dominated by Apple’s iPad mini, Amazon’s Kindle Fire, Google’s Nexus and Samsung’s Galaxy range.

Microsoft’s Surface, launched in October 2012, has about 2 percent of the market and has not made a dent on Apple’s iPad.

The tablet is likely to run on Intel’s Haswell processor, the chip maker’s newest power-optimized processor for PCs. This hints that it will be a Surface Pro rather than a new Surface RT tablet, which uses a different processor made by Nvidia that’s optimized for mobile devices.

Microsoft is also holding an event on May 20 in New York City, presumably to unveil a new mini version Surface tablet. The invitation asks media to “join us for a small gathering.”

“Microsoft would be nuts not to have devices in the mix. The danger is in not exploring,” said Gownder. The Surface “is an important product to basically show what their overall vision is for Windows, and also to offer businesses and consumers another choice.”

Microsoft has sent out invitations which is likely to be the Surface mini launch event. It will take place in New York on 20 May at 11am. It says “Join us for a small gathering” hinting at the smaller size of the Surface mini in comparison to the existing models.

The invitation reads, “join us for a small gathering.” It’s not a stretch to interpret that play on words to mean Microsoft will announce a smaller version of its Surface Windows 8 tablet.

The Surface mini has been rumoured for more than a year but Neowin has it that we’ll see it this year and spring time.

Windows 8 recently got a new update that makes it easier for desktop users to transition to the touch-based operating system. Now, the operating can automatically detect what kind of machine (tablet or desktop/laptop) you’re using and adjust the settings appropriately.

The new miniature Surface will come with a unique 7.5-inch, 1440 x 1080 display with a 4:3 aspect ratio. It’s also rumored to come with a Qualcomm processor under the hood, and thus would run Windows RT rather than full Windows 8.

Microsoft officially said -

“We have a lot of great things that we are thinking about and working on, and there are multiple aspect ratios and sizes and awesome things to come from Surface.”

Features of tablet are -

• Thin but solid build
• Two kickstand positions
• Great performance
• Microsoft Office included

The telecom regulator has been receiving a number of complaints from consumers regarding poor download speed for mobile internet being experienced by them.

Mobile and telephone users will have clarity and assurance on the minimum download speed they would get from their telecom operator, be it 2G or 3G services. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is gearing up to mandate mobile services companies to ensure details in this regard under quality of service rules.

TRAI said -

“The telecom consumers availing wireless data services are not aware of the minimum download speed being offered to them by the TSPs. Generally, the tariff plans offered by the TSPs are based on the volume of data usage for various technologies, without any clarity about the speed being offered to consumers. Also, there is no commitment of minimum download speed while offering a tariff plan.”

MTS has launched its latest Blaze 4.5. The device is not as impressive as the devices from other top-tier smartphone makers but at the given price, this one would be one of the best. The device is in fact manufactured by ZTE, a Chinese smartphone maker.

Specifications of MTS Blaze 4.5 are -

• Processor – 1.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon
• RAM – 1GB
• Camera (Rear) – 5 MP with auto focus
• OS – Android 4.3 Jelly Bean
• Storage – 4 GB expandable upto 32 GB
• Battery – 1600 mAh
• Display – 4.5 inch display
• Price – Rs 9,999

Windows Phone 8.1 brings a new pull-down Action Center, enhanced Calendar options, improved Wi-Fi features, and a wider range of hardware partners.

Most of the features of Cortana will seem immediately familiar to anyone with even a passing understanding of Apple’s Siri software. The on-screen blue circle spins and audibly responds to audio questions, like requests for internet searches and checking your calendar.

Cortana is a beta app, launching just within the United States. But her mission is clear: to become your indispensable personal assistant. And if she can knock down Siri a peg or two along the way, all the better.

New Features introduced are -

• A new Action Center essentially functions as a pull-down notification center from anywhere in the user interface.
• The Calendar app in Windows Phone 8.1 is expanded, adding a helpful week view.
• New Wi-Fi Sense will now allow–with your approval–for your Windows Phone to automatically join public wireless networks.
• Windows Phone keyboard also receives an update, allegedly making it the fastest mobile keyboard in the world.