Google’s client-side encryption now available to users globally for Gmail

by Hansraj Agrawal | Mar 1, 2023 | Technology

Google has announced that “client-side encryption” mode is now generally available for Gmail globally to customers with Workspace Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, and Education Plus.

“Client-side encryption for Gmail is now generally available for Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, and Education Standard customers. For customers currently enrolled in the beta, your experience will not change,” Google said in a blogpost.

Client-side encryption will take the encryption capability to the next level by ensuring that customers have sole control over their encryption keys — and thus complete control over all access to their data.

Moreover, the company said that the users can now send and receive emails or create meeting events with internal colleagues and external parties, knowing that their sensitive data (including inline images and attachments) has been encrypted before it reaches Google servers.

It also mentioned that the service will not be available to users with personal Google accounts.

The tech giant has also rolled out the option to use the feature for several of its other Workspace apps, such as Drive, Docs, and Meet.

The company also announced that Google Calendar now has client-side encryption, allowing companies to add additional security to the description and attachments of events.

–IANS

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(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Median download speeds in India have more than doubled since launch of 5G

by Hansraj Agrawal | Mar 1, 2023 | Technology

Since the launch of 5G services in India, the median download speeds increased by 115 per cent from 13.87 Mbps to 29.85 Mbps, a report released by network intelligence and connectivity insights Ookla showed. India’s position on Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index improved by 49 places from 118th in September to 69th in January.

In terms of internet speed, India now stands ahead of some of the G20 countries, including Mexico, Russia, and Argentina, as well as its neighbours like Indonesia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan.

“India is also catching up with the likes of Turkey (30.98 Mbps median download speed), South Africa (34.71 Mbps) and Brazil (35.85 Mbps),” it said.

Additionally, the 5G Availability or the proportion of users with 5G-capable devices that use the 5G network, has jumped 55 times from 0.1 per cent in September to 5.5 per cent in January. Currently, Cuttack, Chennai and Noida have the highest 5G availability in India.

“During the early days of 5G, in October 2022, we could see 5G device testing in just over a dozen of cities. Only three cities had a 5G Availability exceeding 2 per cent namely, New Delhi, Hyderabad, and Siliguri. Fast forward to January 2023, and 5G Availability exceeded 2 per cent across 39 cities where both Jio and Airtel had rolled out their networks. 5G Availability across three cities was above 13 per cent, namely in Cuttack, Chennai, and Noida,” the report said.

The 5G investments made by the operators have also propelled an increase in 4G LTE speeds due to the modernization of the underlying infrastructure.

“For instance, the median 5G download speed is 25 times that of 4G LTE (338.12 Mbps vs. 13.30 Mbps), and the median 5G upload speed is 4.5 times 4G LTE (19.65 Mbps vs 3.55 Mbps). Ookla’s insight report also witnesses the improvements in LTE speeds (both for Airtel and Jio) in multiple cities as they are offloading 4G traffic onto their 5G network, therefore reducing 4G network congestion,” it said.

Vi India losing customers to Jio, Airtel

The report also highlighted the churning pattern between January and December 2022. It showed that Vi India has been losing users throughout 2022, and following the 5G launch, the disconnections increased significantly.

Most of Vi’s customers have moved away to Jio (1.88 per cent) and Airtel (1.32 per cent). Jio gained around 1.3 per cent of customers from Airtel and Vi. In comparison, Airtel has lost 0.53 per cent to Jio but gained 0.63 per cent from Vi over the same period.

“Jio’s $25 bn investment seems to be paying off. In January 2023 Jio achieved median 5G download speeds above 400 Mbps across ten telecom circles,” the report said.

According to the financial results of the third quarter of the current financial year, Airtel had the highest average revenue per user (ARPU) at Rs 193. It was followed by Jio at Rs 178.2 and Vi at Rs 135.

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MWC 2023: OnePlus foldable phone, Nothing Phone (2) coming later this year

by Hansraj Agrawal | Mar 1, 2023 | Technology

The annual consumer technology show, Mobile World Congress, in Barcelona kicked off with big announcements from Chinese electronics maker OnePlus and UK-based start-up Nothing.

OnePlus announced that it would foray into the foldable device segment later this year. The company said its maiden foldable phone will have the signature OnePlus fast and smooth experience.

“It must be a flagship phone that doesn’t settle because of its folding form, in terms of industrial design, mechanical technology, and other aspects. We want to launch a device that aims to be at the pinnacle experience of today’s foldable market,” said Kinder Liu, President, and COO of OnePlus.

Nothing announced about the Phone (2). The smartphone will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 series processor, confirmed by the company at the MWC.

Recently, Nothing’s Carl Pei said that the Phone (2) will launch in the US. It will be a premium device with focus primarily on software. He also confirmed the launch of a new product in March that is expected to be another wireless earphones in the company audio line.

Tecno and Realme are other Chinese smartphone brands that made big product announcements at the MWC 2023. Tecno unveiled its maiden foldable device named Phantom V Fold. It is similar to Samsung Galaxy Z Fold device with one-side curved glass screen dominating the entire cover and a flexible-bendable screen on the inside that folds inwards.

Realme unveiled its premium flagship smartphone, the Realme GT3. The smartphone debuts 240W wired charging, which is touted to charge the phone’s 4,600 mAh battery in under 10 minutes. Pulse aura light is another novel feature of the smartphone. Available on the back side, next to cameras, it is customisable for colours, apps notifications, and charging indicator.

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India’s mobile download speeds up by 115% since 5G launch, says report

by Hansraj Agrawal | Mar 1, 2023 | Technology

As 5G roll-out picks up speed, the median download speeds across India increased by a massive 115 per cent since the launch of 5G on October 1 last year, a report showed on Wednesday.

The median download speed increased from 13.87 Mbps in September to 29.85 Mbps in January 2023, according to Ookla, the global leader in network intelligence and connectivity insights.

As a result, India’s position on the Speedtest Global Index improved by 49 places from 118th in September 2022 to 69th in January.

The data shows improvement in LTE speeds for both Jio and Airtel since the launch of 5G services, as all their investments into network modernisation are paying off.

“When 5G was first launched in October 2022, there was a wide disparity in the early 5G network performance users were experiencing on 5G-capable devices,” the report noted.

The median 5G download speeds then oscillated between 512.57 Mbps (Gujarat) and 19.23 Mbps (Uttar Pradesh West) as the 5G networks build out started.

In fact, in nine telecom circles: Andhra Pradesh, Kolkata, North East, Haryana, Rajasthan, Bihar, Punjab, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh West, the median 5G download speed was below 100 Mbps because networks were very much at the testing stage.

“Four months on, in January 2023, 5G median download speeds had greatly increased across all of the telecom circles a” exceeding 200 Mbps everywhere except Jammu and Kashmir, with Kolkata clocking speeds over 500 Mbps,” the report noted.

Moreover, 5G investments made by the operators has also propelled an increase in 4G LTE speeds thanks to the modernization of the underlying infrastructure.

For instance, median 5G download speed is 25 times that of 4G LTE (338.12 Mbps vs. 13.30 Mbps), and median 5G upload speed is 4.5 times 4G LTE (19.65 Mbps vs 3.55 Mbps).

“This must be caveated by the fact that these are still early days for 5G in India, and 5G performance will most likely decrease once those networks are commercially available,” said the report.

–IANS

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(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Google plans to roll out fall detection feature on all Pixel watches

by Hansraj Agrawal | Mar 1, 2023 | Technology

Tech giant Google has announced that it is rolling out the fall detection feature to all Pixel watches.

The fall detection feature uses motion sensors built-in to the users’ watch and on-device machine learning to determine if the wearer took a hard fall, the tech giant said in a blogpost on Tuesday.

Also, it will call emergency services if the user doesn’t move or responds within 30 seconds.

“You can turn the feature on in the ‘Updates’ page on the Watch Companion app or directly on the Pixel Watch in the Personal Safety app,” it added.

The tech giant further mentioned that Pixel watches know the difference between taking a hard fall and performing a “vigorous physical activity” because of the company’s machine learning algorithms and “rigorous testing.”

“We trained this process using a broad variety of human and simulated fall data and other motion patterns to accurately detect real falls and minimise potential false alarms,” it added.

In October last year, Google had launched a portfolio of Pixel products, that included the very first Pixel Watch with Wear OS 3.5, and mentioned that “Fall detection (coming in 2023) can sense if you’ve taken a hard fall, connecting you to emergency services and even auto-dialing if you’re unresponsive.”

In 2018, with the launch of the Watch Series 4, Apple had introduced similar fall detection technology.

–IANS

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(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Windows 11 to get AI Bing search box, ‘phone link for iOS’: Microsoft

by Hansraj Agrawal | Mar 1, 2023 | Technology

Tech giant Microsoft has announced new updates coming to Windows 11, including new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered Bing, to the taskbar and phone link for iOS.

With the typable Windows search box and the new AI-powered Bing, users will be empowered to find the answers they are looking for, “faster than ever before”, the tech giant said in a blogpost on Tuesday.

According to the company, the search box is one of the most widely used features on Windows, with over half a billion users every month.

Users in the Bing preview can access this feature by installing the latest Windows 11 update, and other users can join the new Bing preview waitlist.

The tech giant also introduced a new Phone Link for iOS so that “you’ll never have to worry about missing that important call or text while you are concentrating on your Windows 11 PC.”

This feature is launched first as a preview to Windows Insiders.

“For those of you with a Samsung phone, we’ve made it easier to activate your phone’s personal hotspot with a single click from within the Wi-Fi network list on your PC,” the company said.

Microsoft also mentioned that users can now instantly adjust background blur, eye contact and automatic framing, and can apply them to their favourite communications applications, with seamless integration into Teams.

“We are excited to introduce the expansion of Widgets to include Phone Link, Xbox Game Pass, and partners like Meta and Spotify, so it has never been easier to stay up to date on the things that matter,” it added.

The tech giant has also added a new built-in screen recorder in Snipping Tool.

–IANS

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(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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