Vodafone Offers Free Netflix Subscription to Select RED Postpaid Subscribers

HIGHLIGHTS

• Vodafone Red customers getting up to 1 year free subscription of Netflix
• Vodafone Red 1299 plan and above users are eligible for the new offer
• Other Vodafone Red plans eligible are Red 1699, 1999, and 2,999

Vodafone, over the weekend, announced an all-new Netflix subscription benefit for its RED postpaid customers in India. The company has revealed that postpaid subscribers on Vodafone RED plans of Rs. 1,299 or higher value are eligible to get a free up to one-year Netflix subscription as a free gift. For those unaware, Vodafone offers RED postpaid plans starting as low as Rs. 499.

How to get free Netflix subscription with Vodafone RED plans

The Vodafone website confirms that eligible RED postpaid customers can avail the free Netflix subscription for up to one year by visiting the official Vodafone India online store or can also do so by texting 'Netflix' to 199 from an eligible RED postpaid number. Depending on the value of the plan, users will get Rs. 500 per month credited to their Netflix account.

Vodafone's Rs. 1,299 RED postpaid plan comes with unlimited calls on home network as well as on roaming (i.e. free outgoing calls on roaming). It also comes with 100 text messages, and 20GB of bundled 4G/ 3G data for 4G smartphone users. Additionally, the company is offering a gift of 30GB free data to RED 1299 Unlimited plan subscribers. Those that avail of the Netflix offer will get a free two-months subscription, with Rs. 500 per month credited to your Netflix account.

Some of the other RED postpaid plans eligible for the free Netflix subscription include RED 1699 Unlimited which offers unlimited local and STD minutes, 16GB of 3G/ 4G data alongside additional 4GB 4G data for 4G smartphone users, free national roaming, and 100 national SMS free. The RED 1999 Unlimited and RED 2999 Unlimited plans are also eligible, and offer similar benefits to the RED 1699 plan but offer additional 4G data for consumers. Unfortunately, there's no word until when the new Netflix subscription is available to RED postpaid customers.

Vodafone keeps refreshing its new offers to woo customers to opt for the RED postpaid plan. Last month, the company announced 'Vodafone RED Shield' initiative for its RED postpaid customers where it provided insurance cover of up to Rs. 50,000 on newly purchased smartphones as well as those that were purchased till six months back. The insurance cover covered various scenarios such as theft cover, claimed by company to be the only service that offered it, apart from basic handset damage cover.

Apple Plans to Move to 100 Percent Renewable Energy in India, CEO Cook Tells PM Modi

HIGHLIGHTS

• PM Modi is currently visiting the United States of America
• Apple is planning to fully switch to renewable energy in six months
• The H1B visa issue is not expected on the agenda for PM Modi's visit

Apple plans to run all its business in India on 100 percent renewable energy in the next six months, Gadgets 360 has learned. According to sources, this was one of the things that the company told Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is presently on a tour of the United States.

On Sunday, PM Modi met with the heads of 20 of the leading US technology firms, including Tim Cook of Apple, Sunder Pichai of Google, and Jeff Bezos of Amazon.

According to sources, at the meeting, PM Modi was told that there are 740,000 jobs attributable to iOS, and that Indian app developers have created almost 100,000 apps for the App Store, a growth of 57 percent, in 2016.

The company also started production of the iPhone SE in Bengaluru last month, and opened an app accelerator in Bengaluru where the company said it has trained thousands of developers. Now it seems that all of this will be powered by renewable energy.

Amazon head Jeff Bezos tweeted abut being excited to keep investing and growing in India. He wrote: "Terrific meeting with @narendramodi. Always impressed, energized by optimism and invention in India. Excited to keep investing and growing."

As part of the tour, PM Modi will be meeting US President Donald Trump. Ahead of the visit, the two leaders exchanged warm tweets, as President Trump tweeted: "Look forward to welcoming India's PM Modi to @WhiteHouse on Monday. Important strategic issues to discuss with a true friend!" PM Modi replied: "Thank you @POTUS for the warm personal welcome. Greatly look forward to my meeting and discussions with you @realDonaldTrump."

During the visit, the two leaders are expected to talk about defence cooperation, terrorism in South Asia, and China's role in the region. Recent moves such as stricter H1B norms have Indian companies worried. Ahead of the meeting The Trump administration has said that if the Indian side raises the contentious H-1B visa issue during President Trump's meeting with Modi, the Americans were ready to respond.

However, it seems that the H-1B visa policy is not expected to come up for talks, while climate change would be an important topic of discussion between the two world leaders.

Nokia 3, Launched as Offline-Exclusive, Now Available Online in India

HIGHLIGHTS

• Nokia 3 launched earlier this month
• The phone is offline exclusive
• It is available via Croma

Nokia 3, the cheapest of the three new Nokia Android phones by HMD Global, went on sale earlier this month through offline channels. Now, the Nokia 3 is available to buy via online channels as well, though not officially. Croma, the offline retailer, has listed the new Nokia 3 on its online site which means interested users can get the new phone without actually visiting the physical store. Priced at Rs. 9,499, the Nokia 3 is available to buy in Black colour, while other colours have gone out of stock.

Prior to this, the Nokia 3310 was also available via Croma's online store - which is also offline exclusive in India. The Nokia 5, priced at Rs. 12,899, has also been listed at the online store of Croma though currently 'out of stock'. As announced earlier by HMD Global, the Nokia 5 will be going up for pre-bookings starting July 7 through offline channels. The Croma listing was first reported by Gizbot.

HMD Global unveiled the trio of Nokia Android smartphones in India earlier this month, of which Nokia 3 and Nokia 5 are offline-only, and Nokia 6 is online-exclusive.

Nokia 3 specifications

To refresh, the Nokia 3 is targeted at those who are looking for a premium-looking handset at a budget and features a 5-inch HD display, Android 7.0 Nougat, and 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek 6737 SoC. It comes with 16GB of inbuilt storage, which is expandable via microSD card (up to 128GB). Optics include an 8-megapixel camera on both the front and back. The Nokia 3 packs a 2650mAh battery and measures 143.4x71.4x8.4mm.

Nokia 3

• KEY SPECS

Display

5.00-inch

Processor

1.3GHz quad-core

Front Camera

8-megapixel

Resolution

720x1280 pixels

RAM

2GB

OS

Android 7.0

Storage

16GB

Rear Camera

8-megapixel

Battery Capacity

2650mAh

NASA's Opportunity Rover Spots Evidence of Ancient Lake on Mars

Photo Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/Arizona State Univ.

HIGHLIGHTS

• The Opportunity rover found rocks at the edge of Endeavour Crater
• The rocks were either transported by a flood or eroded in place by wind
• The crater is about 22 kilometres across

NASA's Opportunity Mars rover is examining the edge of a crater on the red planet that may once have been a lake of liquid water.

The Opportunity rover found rocks at the edge of Endeavour Crater that were either transported by a flood or eroded in place by wind.

The features were seen just outside the crater rim's crest above Perseverance Valley, which is carved into the inner slope of the rim. Researchers plan to drive Opportunity down Perseverance Valley after completing a "walkabout" survey of the area above it.

The Opportunity mission has been investigating sites on and near the western rim of Endeavour Crater since 2011. The crater is about 22 kilometres across.

"The walkabout is designed to look at what's just above Perseverance Valley," said Ray Arvidson, from Washington University in St Louis.

"We see a pattern of striations running east-west outside the crest of the rim," said Arvidson, Deputy Principal Investigator of the Opportunity mission.

A portion of the crest at the top of Perseverance Valley has a broad notch. Just west of that, elongated patches of rocks line the sides of a slightly depressed, east-west swath of ground, which might have been a drainage channel billions of years ago.

"We want to determine whether these are in-place rocks or transported rocks," Arvidson said.

"One possibility is that this site was the end of a catchment where a lake was perched against the outside of the crater rim," he said.

"A flood might have brought in the rocks, breached the rim and overflowed into the crater, carving the valley down the inner side of the rim," he added.

"Another possibility is that the area was fractured by the impact that created Endeavour Crater, then rock dikes filled the fractures, and we're seeing effects of wind erosion on those filled fractures," Arvidson said.

In the hypothesis of a perched lake, the notch in the crest just above Perseverance Valley may have been a spillway.

Weighing against that hypothesis is an observation that the ground west of the crest slopes away, not toward the crater.

The science team is considering possible explanations for how the slope might have changed.

A variation of the impact-fracture hypothesis is that water rising from underground could have favoured the fractures as paths to the surface and contributed to weathering of the fracture-filling rocks.

The team is analysing images of Perseverance Valley, taken from the rim, to plot Opportunity's route.

The valley extends down from the crest into the crater at a slope of about 15 to 17 degrees for a distance of about two football fields.

Amazon India Pre-GST Sale Offers Discounts on TVs, Home Appliances, and Other Deals

HIGHLIGHTS

• The discounts are being offered across product ranges
• Amazon is offering Amazon Pay balance cashback on certain products
• Audio devices are currently available with heavy discounts

As part of its 'Pre-GST Sale', Amazon India is currently offering heavy discounts and lucrative offers on TVs, air conditioners, refrigerators, and speakers among other categories. Apart from the discounted prices, the website is offering Rs. 1,000 payback in the form of Amazon Pay balance on certain products sold by specific retailers. Further, there are exchange offers also available on certain products as part of this sale.

Starting with TVs, the Panasonic TH-40DS500D (40-inches) full-HD (1080x1920 pixels) LED Smart TV, usually priced at Rs. 46,900, is currently available at Rs. 31,998. The LG 43LH576T (43 inches) full-HD Smart LED IPS TV, which is usually available at Rs. 54,900, is currently being offered on the website at Rs. 41,400. Sanyo's 49-inch full-HD LED IPS TV is being offered at Rs. 32,490 as part of this sale.

In slightly smaller screen sizes, customers can opt for the Samsung (32 inches) 32J4003-SF HD Ready LED TV, which is usually available at a price of Rs. 28,900, but is currently being offered at Rs. 18,990 on the website. There are other TV choices available from TCL, BPL, and Micromax in same screen size in the lower price range.

As part of Pre-GST Sale, Amazon India is also offering discounts on select home theatre systems as well. Sony DAV-TZ145 Home Theatre System is currently available at Rs. 10,819 (usually priced at Rs. 11,990). The Tronica Bluetooth 4.1 Home Theater System LV-033 is currently available at Rs. 2,327 (usually priced at Rs. 3,000).

Continuing in the audio department, the F&D E200 Plus Sound Bar Speaker is being offered at Rs. 1,749 (usually priced at Rs. 2,290). On the expensive side, the Philips HTL2163B/12 Bluetooth Soundbar Speaker is available at Rs. 10,600 (down from usual price of Rs. 11,990).

The JBL GO Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker is currently available at Rs. 1,999 (against usual price of Rs. 3,490) as part of this sale. The Philips BT50B Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker can be grabbed from the website as part of this sale at Rs. 1,198 (down from usual price of Rs. 1,999).

In TV headphones category, the Sound One BT-06 Bluetooth Headphones are currently available at Rs. 1,890 (down from usual price of Rs. 3,490) as part of Amazon Pre-GST sale. Moving further along in the price range, the Sennheiser RS 120 II Wireless On-Ear Headphone can be grabbed from website at a discounted price of Rs. 4,999 (against usual price of Rs. 7,990) for limited time.

Other categories that are part of Amazon Pre-GST Sale include large appliances like air conditioners, microwaves, washing machines, refrigerators, and inverters.

Honor 8 Pro India Launch Set for July 6, Will Be Amazon Exclusive

HIGHLIGHTS

• Honor 8 Pro looks set to go on sale in India from July 6
• The new smartphone to be Amazon India exclusive
• Dual rear cameras, 6GB RAM are some highlight features

Honor 8 Pro, Huawei Terminal brand Honor's new offering, was unveiled last week in India but without a price tag. Amazon India has now teased the India availability of the Honor 8 Pro, saying it will launch on July 6.

The dedicated page on Amazon India confirms that the Honor 8 Pro will be an Amazon India exclusive. With the Notify Me option alongside, we can expect the smartphone to go on sale on July 6 itself. We can also expect the pricing of the Honor 8 Pro to be revealed on July 6 when the phone goes on sale in India. To recall, the Honor 8 Pro was launched with a price tag of EUR 549 (roughly Rs. 39,500) in Europe and we can expect the India pricing to remain around the same price point in India.

ALSO SEEHonor 8 Pro First Impressions

Some of the highlight features of the Honor 8 Pro are dual cameras at the back, a massive 4000mAh battery, and an impressive 6GB of RAM. The smartphone will be available in Navy Blue and Midnight Black colour choices in India.

The Honor 8 Pro comes with two 12-megapixel sensors with f/2.2 aperture, laser autofocus, LED flash, and 4K video recording. One sensor takes the images in RGB while the other takes them in monochrome. At front, there is an 8-megapixel sensor for taking selfies as well.

The dual-SIM Honor 8 Pro runs on Android 7.0 Nougat-based EMUI 5.1, and features a 5.7-inch QHD (1440x2560 pixels) LTPS LCD display. It is powered by Kirin 960 (4 Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 1.8GHz + 4 Cortex-A73 cores clocked at 2.4GHz) coupled with 6GB of LPDDR4 RAM. It comes with 128GB inbuilt storage which can be expanded further by using the hybrid microSD card slot (up to 256GB). The Honor 8 Pro includes 4G LTE connectivity, Wi-Fi, USB Type-C, Bluetooth 4.2, and NFC.

Huawei Honor 8 Pro

• KEY SPECS

Display

5.70-inch

Processor

1.8GHz octa-core

Front Camera

8-megapixel

Resolution

1440x2560 pixels

RAM

6GB

OS

Android 7.0

Storage

64GB

Rear Camera

12-megapixel

Battery Capacity

4000mAh

Flipkart Unveils Rs. 999 per Month Laptop Offer Partnering With HP, Intel, Microsoft

HIGHLIGHTS

• Consumers can Rs. 999 per month in a 36-month EMI
• Flipkart has partnered ICICI Bank and Citibank
• The laptop sports a Intel Core i3 processor

E-commerce marketplace Flipkart on Monday announced that it has collaborated with HP, Intel, and Microsoft so that consumers can buy the HP Imprint, an Intel Core i3-powered Windows 10 laptop priced at Rs. 35,954, at Rs. 999 per month by availing a 36-month EMI option.

This collaboration is an effort to tap college students and first-time PC buyers. Flipkart has also partnered with ICICI Bank and Citibank to provide hassle-free financing options to consumers.

"With Flipkart's wide market reach combined with an industry-first affordable 36-month EMI option, we are certain that this offering is a winning combination and will strike a chord with our customers reinforcing our undisputed position as laptop market-leaders in the country," Amitesh Jha, Vice President - Electronic Devices at Flipkart, said in a statement.

Commenting on the partnership, Ketan Patel, Sr. Director, Personal Systems, HP Inc. India said, "In our quest to consistently amaze our customers, we are happy to collaborate with Flipkart and Flipkart's reach coupled with our superior technology will help us digitally enable the citizens in every nook and corner of our country."

The initiative enhances Flipkart's wide selection of laptops curated for its current "Back to College" campaign which offers deals and selection to students.

The laptop category is the third largest category on Flipkart and is growing more than 30 percent year-on-year against the industry growth of approximately 5 percent. The company says its Back to College itself has seen a 30 percent increase in sales since its launch, and boasts that features like No Cost EMI and Doorstep Product Exchange helped drive this growth.