Samsung has announced the very first smartphones from its 2018 portfolio, the Samsung Galaxy A8, and the Samsung Galaxy A8+. The new mid-range phones come with near flagship-like specifications, including the bezel-less Infinity Display and dual front cameras.

Samsung Galaxy A8 comes with 4 GB RAM and inbuilt storage variants with 32/64 gigs. 3,000 mAh battery powers the device. It sports a 5.6-inch Super AMOLED screen, with a resolution of 2220x1080 pixels.

Samsung Galaxy A8+ is 5 mm wider, and 10 mm taller in comparison, and thus features a more prominent 6-inch display. To power the bigger screen, the battery is bumped to 3,500 mAh. Along with the standard 4 GB RAM and 32/64 gigs memory variants, there is also an option to opt for 6 GB RAM.

Photography is given a higher focus in the new A series. The devices come with a 16 MP primary camera with a f/1.7 aperture. The secondary cameras are a composition of one 8 MP lens and another 16 MP lens, allowing to click selfies with bokeh effect. The Live Focus feature allows adjusting the bokeh effect after the shot is taken. Software-based digital image stabilization technology is now applicable to videos as well.

Samsung Galaxy A8 and A8+ are due to launch in January next year. They will come in four color variants, viz. black, blue, gold, and grey. Pricing is yet to be revealed.

Samsung Galaxy A8 specifications

Operating System: Android 7.1 (Nougat)
Processor: 2x2.2 GHz + 6x1.6 GHz octa-core
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Storage: 32/64 GB internal (expandable up to 256 GB)
Display: 5.6-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED
Resolution (pixels): 2220x1080
Primary camera: 16 megapixel
Secondary camera: 16+8 megapixel
Battery: 3,000 mAh
Dimensions (WidthxHeightxDepth): 70.6x149.2x8.4 mm
Weight: 172 g
Price: TBA

Samsung Galaxy A8+ specifications

Operating System: Android 7.1 (Nougat)
Processor: 2x2.2 GHz + 6x1.6 GHz octa-core
Memory: 4/6 GB RAM
Storage: 32/64 GB internal (expandable up to 256 GB)
Display: 6-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED
Resolution (pixels): 2220x1080
Primary camera: 16 megapixel
Secondary camera: 16+8 megapixel
Battery: 3,500 mAh
Dimensions (WidthxHeightxDepth): 75.7x159.9x8.3 mm
Weight: 191 g
Price: TBA

10.or G was launched in India around couple of months back. It was preceded by an entry-level device, the 10.or E. For the uninitiated, 10.or is a new online-only smartphone brand entering the market exclusively via Amazon.

The smartphone comes in black and grey color variants (we have the former one). Concerning specifications, the device features a full HD display and is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 626 octa-core processor. It comes with a 5.5-inch screen. There are two variants of the device based on the RAM and storage, one with 3 GB RAM and 32 GB internal memory, and the other with 4 and 64 gigs combination. We have the higher variant with us. The storage is expandable up to 128 GB via the microSD card slot. The device runs on Android Nougat 7.1.2 and packs a 4,000 mAh battery.

The smartphone features a display with a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels. The three standard buttons for Menu, Home, and Back are placed on the screen (same as the E) resulting in the wastage of a lot of space at the bottom bezel. Additionally, there is a 16 MP front-facing camera lens located above the display, to the right of the earpiece grille, which is itself in the center. The LED flash is located to the left of the earpiece. The notification indicator LED, and the ambient light sensor is placed at the right of the sensor.

The smartphone's hardware includes Qualcomm Snapdragon 626 octa-core (8x2.2 GHz) processor and dual 13 MP rear cameras with dual tone LED flash located beside the camera lens'. Above the camera lens lies the secondary noise-cancellation microphone. Below the camera is the circular fingerprint sensor, which delivers more misses than hits. Below the fingerprint module is the 10.or branding. The top antenna line is placed in between the microphone and the cameras, and the bottom antenna line is below the branding.

The right side of the device features the power key (located on the top) and the volume rocker key (located below it). The hybrid SIM tray is found on the left side of the device. One of the two nano SIM slots is hybrid; only one slot supports 4G LTE at any instance in time.

The 3.5 mm headset jack is on the top left. The micro USB port is at the bottom center. The speaker grille and the primary microphone are placed on either side. The right grille houses the speaker, while the left one is a decoy for the microphone. The other speaker is located on the top of the phone without any grille.

10.or G features a metal unibody design, i.e., the rear panel is non-removable. The device has rounded corner, while the display is pointed.

Stay tuned for a detailed review of the device. Subscribe to our feed, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Google+ to get notified as soon as the review is published.

10.or G specifications

Operating System: Android 7.1 (Nougat)
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 626
Memory: 3/4 GB RAM
Storage: 32/64 GB internal (expandable up to 128 GB)
Display: 5.5-inch full HD
Resolution (pixels): 1920x1080
Primary camera: 13+13 megapixel
Secondary camera: 16 megapixel
Battery: 4,000 mAh
Dimensions (WidthxHeightxDepth): 76.0x155.0x9.0 mm
Weight: 168 g
Price: ₹10,999 ($170 approx.) for 3/32 GB variant; ₹12,999 ($205 approx.) for 4/64 GB model

Remember Thought Factory by Axis? Yes, it was their innovation lab for startups limited to the FinTech domain. For others, they now have Axis Start-up Social.

As the name suggests, the new platform is for networking and socializing, thus sharing knowledge and helping other potential startups. It went live on December 15, at an event held at WeWork, a co-working space in Bengaluru.

We at Today's Trendy were invited to attend the launch event, which unfolded pleasantly that Friday evening. The founders of Licious and Divrt were there to share their success stories, along with the struggles they had to face, both generally and specifically.

First on the podium was Vivek Gupta, the CEO of Licious. It is a meat delivery service currently operating in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Delhi NCR. "We are not a food-delivery service," he kept on insisting. He shared his story about how he ended up branding meat. He admitted to knowing how the funding-side of the startup ecosystem works, thanks to his previous stint at a VC firm.

Amit now talking how Silicon Valley is different from India for startups. #AxisStartupSocial #fb pic.twitter.com/ZfzVxgFI59

— Garg Ankit (@graciousgarg) December 15, 2017

Next up was Amit Rohatgi of Divrt. The startup aims at providing a comfortable and data-driven parking solution to the most populated cities in the world. He talked about how the startup ecosystem is different in Silicon Valley than it is in India. He is appalled by the enormous sums of money startups in the sub-continent offer tech talents. He is also unsure why developers in India settle for a high CTC number instead of working for shares, which are expected to grow manifold over the years.
Informative Q&A sessions followed each of the above talks. Vivek explained the importance of collecting data about the customers, sales, and almost every other department. The next logical step is then to draw conclusions from the same and strategically plan the next move.

If I may say, the idea will be a huge success. One can learn a lot from past mistakes, but can equally learn from the mistakes of others. It is always good to know what not to do. These talks can be a real game changer for the newbies in the field.

To lighten the mood was arranged a stand-up comedy act by Vikram Poddar, who is an investment banker turned corporate standup comedian. The evening ended with networking opportunities over snacks.

"We are excited to launch Axis Start-up Social, a platform through which we hope to provide the much required, ‘extra edge’ to the start-up community by handholding them, sharing knowledge and providing the required financial solutions. Today, the Indian ecosystem is flooded with innovative ideas but what is missing is the presence of the right channel and guidance in terms of acceleration, scaling up and funding. Through Axis Start-up Social, we endeavour to create an ecosystem to encourage innovation and the next-level-of-growth opportunities to start-ups that are ready to take that leap,”

said Sidharth Rath from Axis Bank.

This is a sponsored post.

Nvidia Titan V, the latest offering from the American technology company, is the world's most powerful GPU ever created for Personal Computers. The product targets researchers and scientists. It was announced at the annual NIPS conference by founder and CEO, Jensen Huang.

There are 21.1 billion transistors used. New Tensor Cores deliver 110 teraflops and are designed for deep learning and scientific computations and simulations.

The Nvidia Titan V promises to turn a PC into an Artificial Intelligence powered supercomputer. The new GPU has nine times the raw horsepower of its predecessor. It is built on their proprietary Volta GPU architecture.

The new GPU is twice as energy efficient as that of the precious generation Pascal design, which is due to a significant redesign of the multiprocessor at the center of the Graphics Processing Unit. There is also a boost in performance within the same power usage as that of its predecessor.

Nvidia Titan V is priced at $2,999.

Watch the introductory video below:

Scientists at the University of California San Diego have created a smartphone case to measure the level of glucose in the blood. It is being developed by a team led by professors Patrick Mercier and Joseph Wang.

How does it look?

The 3D-printed case is named the GPhone. It draws its power from the phone's battery. There is a reusable sensor at one of the corners. This sensor is connected to a printed circuit board. The removable stylus on the side is filled with pellets. One pellet is dispensed at a time, and each pellet is for one-time use only. The product is still in the prototype phase.

How does it work?

One has to fetch a pellet from the stylus and place it on the sensor. A magnet holds it in place, and the sensor is powered up.

The next step involves placing a sample of blood on the pellet. Glucose oxidase, an enzyme present in the pellet, reacts with the glucose in the blood and generates an electric signal. The signal's strength is directly proportional to the glucose concentration in the blood. The electrodes of the sensor measure the signal and transmit the data to the smartphone via Bluetooth. The data is then presented to the user as a number on an application built for the purpose.

Data collected over time can be used to track progress, or interpreted in other meaningful ways.
Each test run takes around 20 seconds. Once done, the pellet is thrown away, which deactivates the sensor.

Challenges at hand

1. Cost of the pellets is more than the paper strips used in conventional test kits.
2. Each test run needs at least 12 drops of blood! Research is underway to reduce it to the bare minimum.

Source: University of California San Diego

Alexa, the voice assistant from Amazon, has increased its presence across various devices in our home - Bluetooth speakers (Echo), and smartphones (HTC U11). Now it is ready to enter the workplace in the form of "Alexa for Business."

The idea of Alexa for Business is to provide employees access to the smart digital assistant so that they can delegate few tasks and make their days easy.

Trivial tasks like scheduling meetings, setting up a conference call, and verifying meeting room equipment and notifying the IT team in case something is not working can be handed-over to Alexa.

"Tens of millions of people already count on Alexa at home, in their cars, and on mobile devices to answer questions, provide news and information, and stay connected to friends and family," said Peter Hill from Amazon. "Alexa for Business extends the simplicity of voice control to the workplace while adding powerful tools to help businesses deploy and manage devices, create skills, and deliver voice-first experiences in a scalable way—all backed by the AWS Cloud."

The management console available for businesses will let them add users and assign skills across all Alexa-enabled devices on their network. As far as skills are concerned, companies like Cloudwatch, Salesforce, Splunk, Twine, and Zoom have already created a few.

I am a bit baffled by not seeing Microsoft on that list. Their Windows operating system along with the Office Suite is the most used combination in the business world. It would be great if Alexa could leverage that client base. I expect this to happen soon since Amazon has earlier successfully managed to cut a deal which involved Alexa and Cortana talking to each other.

In the starter kit for Alexa for Business, a business can opt for three Echos, or two Dots, or two Echo Shows.