Microsoft Unveils Seven Windows 10 Laptops for Schools, New Classroom Pen, Teams Upgrades

Microsoft announced the new Classroom Pen

1. Furthering its education push, Microsoft has launched seven new Windows 10 devices meant for schools, a new Microsoft Classroom Pen, new feature additions to Microsoft Teams software, and other new technologies to help make the learning process easier. The seven new Windows 10 devices include the Lenovo 100e, Lenovo 300e 2-in-1, Lenovo 14w, Acer TravelMate B1 (B118-M), Acer TravelMate Spin B1 (B118-R/RN), Acer TravelMate B1-141, and Dell Latitude 3300 for Education. The company also announced the Microsoft Classroom Pen, designed specifically with K-8 students and schools in mind, and optimised for use with Surface Go.

The new Windows 10 devices come with offerings like 'Learning Tools' in Office 365, and S Mode that reduces bloatware and improves battery life. Microsoft notes that the Lenovo 300e 2-in-1 comes with stylus support, but if the stylus gets lost, students can even write on the screen with a regular No. 2 graphite pencil. This new range starts from as low as $189 (roughly Rs. 13,400), giving tough competition to Chromebooks that have been pushing education-focused features as well. The three laptops from Acer, Lenovo, and Dell come in the $300 (roughly Rs. 21,400) price range, and claim to give bigger screens and added functionality for the same low price as many smaller devices.

The Redmond giant also launched a new Classroom Pen that is optimised for Surface Go, and is designed keeping schools, students, and classrooms in mind. It is touted to be durable with a hardened pen tip that is replaceable. It also sports a built-in slot at the end for easy tethering to students' device cases, so the pen doesn't get lost. The Microsoft Classroom Pen will be available exclusively to education institutions and sold in packs of 20 for a cost of $799.80. The first wave of availability will begin next month, and it will be sold in 36 markets where the Surface Go has been made available.

Microsoft Teams also got new features like Grade Sync, Mobile grading, Turnitin integration, and improvements to Teams Assignments as well. Grade Sync automatically sends grades from Teams Assignments directly to your Student Information System, saving teachers lots of time. Microsoft notes that Grade Sync will be coming to systems like PowerSchool, Infinite Campus, Capita SIMS and many others soon. It is also taking registrations for a preview here. The company also introduced the ability to grade team assignments via the Android and iOS Teams app. It is also set to get Turnitin integration, accessible directly via Teams Assignments, that allows teachers to check student submissions for multiple forms of plagiarism and helps teach the value of academic integrity, proper attribution, and authentic writing. Teams will also allow teachers to access MakeCode in the future, with beta access kicking off this month itself. It will be available within Teams Assignments. The Teams Assignments will also get an upgrade to a more simplified experience that is easier and faster to use.

Microsoft also announced Code Jumper to enable kids aged 7 to 11 learn the basics of coding. It also will give schools free 25 hours of standards-aligned virtual reality curricula across subjects when they purchase a Windows virtual reality headset. Lastly, it also introduced Immersive Reader software for VR and free Dyslexia training materials for teachers.

Full images of all three Galaxy S10 phones leak, complete with cases

Here's looking at you, Samsung Galaxy S10 models: we've got newly leaked pictures of all three handsets heading our way next month, complete with cases attached. We also have claims that the names will be Galaxy S10E, Galaxy S10, and Galaxy S10 Plus.

The pictures come courtesy of well-known tipster Evan Blass, so we can be pretty sure these are the genuine article. 

Unfortunately the casing hides a lot of the design of the phone, but you can see the camera arrays on the back of the devices – the S10E has a dual-lens camera, while the premium handsets have a triple-lens snapper.

On the front of the phones, the pinhole notch is in evidence up in the top right-hand corner of the display. It looks like the Galaxy S10 Plus is going to feature a dual-lens front-facing camera, as you can see from the wider cut out in the screen.

Samsung's S10 line (credit: Evan Blass)

So, from left to right, here are the Galaxy S10E, the Galaxy S10 and the Galaxy S10 Plus from Samsung. Thanks to press invites sent out for the Unpacked launch event, we know we'll be seeing these phones in full on Wednesday February 20.

The pictures would also seem to confirm these phones will have fingerprint sensors built into the display rather than around the back. The usual internal upgrades are on the cards as well, with new Exynos 9820and Snapdragon 855 chips set to ensure the 2019 Galaxy phones comfortably beat the 2018 Galaxy phones in terms of benchmarks.

With so much information on these phones appearing ahead of time, there's not much left for Samsung to surprise us with on February 20. We might also see the long-rumored foldable Galaxy phoneappear at the same event – fingers crossed.

Facebook now lets you create petitions for social causes

In the past few years, Facebook’s been concentrating on community-based features like Candidate Info and Town Hall to increase users’ engagement with local government and politics. In its latest move, it’ll roll out a petition feature you can use to create a campaign that other folks can support. TechCrunch, which got a sneak peek of the feature from the company, says that Facebook is aiming to focus this feature around local causes and on bringing them to the attention of government bodies in charge of them.

The petition feature, which is called Community Actions, will start rolling out in the US from today. You can create an Action with a title and description, and tag the relevant authority or agency that can act on it. Other users can “support” the petition and share the cause to their feeds to help it gather momentum.

You can only participate in the discussion about an action if you choose to support it. If you’re against an Action, you can’t register your opposition with a downvote-like button. Instead, you’ll either have to share the cause with your followers and post a comment or report it.

With a new Facebook feature comes new concerns, the first being post moderation. While the example of a Community Action posted by Facebook shows causes like build a performing arts center and putting crosswalks near a library, it’s safe to assume that loads of people will use this opportunity to try spreading misinformation or incite violence. Facebook will have to enforce a rock-solid moderation policy to ensure problematic posts don’t filter through its system and onto users’ news feeds.

Next, it’s possible that some users will choose to ‘support’ Actions only to post offensive comments in the discussion thread. Facebook told TechCrunch it’ll “employ a combination of user flagging, proactive algorithmic detection, and human enforcers” to manage the feature. Additionally, some government officials will have a “constituents” badge to ensure people know when there’s an authentic comment from a government representative on the post.

Facebook also said that it didn’t face any trouble in its initial tests with a limited number of users. But it’ll surely face a more challenging scenario once the feature is available to a larger user set.

This feature could potentially create an alternative to the popular petition platform, change.org, which claims to have more than 250 million users.

In this regard, Facebook has a natural advantage of a larger user base and ease of use – people can support a cause with just the click of a button on their news feed. But it remains to be seen if Community Actions actually gain traction and assist concerned citizens in getting their attention of their elected representatives.

Redmi Note 7 Pro Price Leak, Samsung Galaxy M-Series Launch Date, WhatsApp Android Update, and More News This Week

Redmi Note 7 Pro price leak, Samsung Galaxy M-series India launch date, and the WhatsApp for Android update were easily the biggest tech news items of the week just past. Starting with Xiaomi and its sub-brand Redmi, the Chinese manufacturer is getting ready to introduce the international variant of its Redmi Note 7 smartphone in the form of the Redmi Note 7 Pro. Although the company is yet to officially announce the new model, the company's Redmi Note 5 Pro and Redmi Note 6 Pro are pretty good indicators of the fact that Redmi Note 7 Pro is coming to India and several other global markets where Xiaomi currently operates.

Redmi Note 7 Pro price

The Redmi Note 7 Pro was briefly mentioned at the Redmi Note 7 launch event last week, but the company failed to share many details apart from revealing that phone will come with Sony IMX586 primary sensor instead of Samsung ISOCELL GM1 sensor present in the Redmi Note 7.

Earlier this week, the alleged pricing of the Redmi Note 7 Pro phone made its way to Chinese social network Weibo. A Weibo tipster suggested that the smartphone will retail at CNY 1,499 (roughly Rs. 15,800). It is unclear whether it is the starting price of the phone or of a specific storage variant. The tipster also noted that the Redmi Note 7 Pro will be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 SoC.

Redmi Note 7 vs Realme U1 vs Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2

Despite the slowing down smartphone market, Redmi by Xiaomi is quite bullish about the Redmi Note 7. A company executive on Tuesday stated that Redmi is hopeful of selling one million units of the Redmi Note 7 in January alone. Since the company's first Redmi Note 7 flash sale lasted just over eight minutes, it looks very likely that the company will achieve the milestone.

In more Xiaomi/ Redmi news, the MIUIteam recently shared that Android 9 Pieupdate for Redmi Note 5, Redmi 6 Pro, Redmi S2 will go into internal testing in the first quarter of this year. The Mi 6X Android Pie update will also enter testing during the same time. However, it is unclear whether the team was just talking about the Chinese phones or their global variants as well.

On the India front, Xiaomi's new Mi TV models – Mi TV 4X Pro 55 and Mi TV 4A Pro 43 – went on sale for the first time this week. These smart TVs are being offered via Flipkart, Mi.com, and Mi Home stores in the country. While the Mi TV 4X Pro 55-inch model price in India is Rs. 39,999, the Mi TV 4A Pro 43-inch is retailing at Rs. 22,999. Additionally, the company also held the first sale for Mi Soundbar, the company's first home audio product in the country. The Mi Soundbar carries a price-tag of Rs. 4,999.

Talking about sales, both Amazon and Flipkart have kicked off their first big sales of the year — check out the top deals on offer right now during the Amazon Great Indian sale and Flipkart Republic Day sale.

Samsung Galaxy M-series India launch

As we mentioned earlier, Samsungfinally announced this week that it plans to unveil the new Galaxy M-series of phones on January 28 in the country. The phones will go on sale beginning February 5 via Samsung's own online store and Amazon India. The South Korean company and its retail partner Amazon have been very aggressive with the marketing of these upcoming phones. The companies have been actively teasing the Galaxy M-series phones on Twitter and other social media platforms.

As per online reports, Samsung is planning to introduce three phones in the Galaxy M-series – Samsung Galaxy M10, Galaxy M20, and Galaxy M30 – however, only the first two are likely to be released initially, with the Galaxy M30 following later. A recent reportfrom IANS also claimed to divulge the prices of Galaxy M10 and Galaxy M20. According to the news agency, Samsung will sell the Galaxy M10 starting Rs. 7,990, whereas the Galaxy M20 will be offered beginning Rs. 10,990. The company is yet to officially confirm these prices.

WhatsApp adds new features

The massively popular messaging app WhatsApp earlier this week released an update for its Android version in the Google Play store. The update adds a group call shortcut to make it easier for the consumers to place a group video or voice call. The same shortcut is already available in the iPhone versionof the app. Additionally, the company included a fix for GIF bug in the latest update for the Android app. The update carries the version number 2.19.2.

WhatsApp is also said to be working on integrating support for stickers offered by the keyboard apps like GBoard. The Google-owned keyboard is reportedly first in line to support direct sharing of stickers in WhatsApp, with other keyboard apps following later. At this point, it is believed that Google is testing the integration on its end, whereas WhatsApp has already included the integration. As soon a Google is done testing, the feature will be rolled out to the Android users. There is no word if the same will be released for the iPhone users.

Getting Started With Making Stickers for Whatsapp.

A report from App Annie revealed this week that WhatsApp crossed Facebookto become most popular Facebook-owned application. The WhatsApp Messenger surpassed Facebook in September and has maintained the lead since. App Annie's The State of Mobile 2019 report also notes that WhatsApp was the most used social app in 2018 by average monthly sessions per user. The app claimed the top spot in markets like India, Canada, Germany, Brazil, and UK, whereas Snapchat dominated the US and France markets.

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With the Mobile World Congress quickly approaching, the smartphone makers were largely silent this week. Although there were a few India-specific launches, Vivo was the only company to introduce a brand-new device – Vivo Z3i Standard Edition. It is a variant of the company's previously launched Vivo Z3i. The phone is currently only available in China and carries a price-tag of CNY 1,998 (roughly Rs. 20,900).

The dual-SIM Vivo Z3i Standard Edition features a 6.3-inch full-HD+ (1080x2280 pixels) IPS screen with a 19:9 aspect ratio. It is powered by an octa-core MediaTek Helio P60 SoC, coupled with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage that is expandable via microSD card (up to 256GB). Among other specifications, Vivo has included a dual rear camera setup with a 16-megapixel primary sensor and a 2-megapixel secondary sensor.

Honor 10 Lite now available in India

Coming to India, Honor launched its Honor 10 Lite smartphone in the country this week. The phone is now available via Flipkart and HiHonor storestarting Rs. 13,999. The Honor 10 Literuns EMUI 9.0 on top of Android 9.0 Pie out-of-the-box and features a 6.21-inch full-HD+ (1080x2340 pixels) display with a dewdrop notch. It is powered by HiSilicon Kirin 710 SoC and up to 6GB of RAM.

Additionally, the Honor 10 Lite comes with a dual camera setup on the back with a 13-megapixel primary sensor and a 2-megapixel secondary sensor. There is a 24-megapixel camera on the front as well. The phone is now on sale in India.

Honor 10 Lite Review

Huawei, the parent company of Honor, was also hogging the headlines this week with the release of its Huawei Y9 (2019) smartphone. The phone was launched last week but went on sale on in the country on December 17. It is a mid-range smartphone and has been priced at Rs. 15,990. The price-tag includes a bundled Boat ROCKERZ 255 SPORTS Bluetooth headset.

In terms of the specifications, the Huawei Y9 (2019) sports a 6.5-inch full-HD+ (1080x2340 pixels) FullView display. It is powered by an octa-core Kirin 710 SoC, paired with 4GB RAM. The smartphone has 64GB of inbuilt storage, which can further be expanded using a microSD card (up to 256GB). For the imaging need, Huawei has packed a dual rear camera setup that includes a 13-megapixel primary sensor and a 2-megapixel secondary sensor.

Vivo's new Z3i Standard Edition may not be gracing the Indian stores just yet, but the Chinese smartphone maker unveiled the Vivo Y91 phone in the country this week. The phone is already on sale via Vivo's own e-store, Amazon India, and PayTM Mall. The company plans to release it via offline retail partners as well.

The Vivo Y91 features a 6.22-inch FullView display with HD+ resolution (720x1520) with a dewdrop notch. It is powered by octa-core MediaTek Helio P22 SoC and include 2GB of RAM as well as 32GB of inbuilt storage. There is a microSD card slot as well in the phone for further storage expansion. For the photography enthusiast, the Vivo Y91 comes with a dual rear camera setup with a 13-megapixel primary sensor and 2-megapixel secondary sensor.

Transsion Holdings' mobile brand Iteltoo joined the launch action the past Monday with the introduction of its Itel A44 Air phone. It is based on Android Go platform and runs on Android 8.1 Oreo (Go Edition). Other features of the phone include a 5.45-inch FWVGA (480x960 pixels) display Unisoc (formerly Spreadtrum) SC9832E processor, and 1GB of RAM.

The phone also packs a dual rear camera set-up with a 5-megapixel primary sensor and a 0.08-megapixel secondary sensor. According to Itel, the A44 Air has been priced at Rs. 4,999 and can now be purchased from major retail stores across the country.

Among the non-smartphone launches, Amazon introduced its Echo Inputdevice in the country with a price-tag of Rs. 2,999. The device essentially can bring Alexa support to any of existing speakers, either through an audio cable or via a Bluetooth connection. The device's pricing hasn't gotten much love from the netizens as it is almost double of what the company charges from US consumers.

To make the device more enticing to the Indian consumers, Amazon has partnered with speaker brand to bundle Echo Dot with their speakers at a discounted price. The JBL Go 2 speaker bundle gets you a flat Rs. 1,499 discount, whereas you can get the Echo Input for free if you buy the newly launched Ultimate Ears Boom 3 or the Bose SoundLink Revolve.

Xiaomi-Backed Huami also released its Amazfit Verge Smartwatch in the country. It carries a price-tag of Rs. 11,999 and is now on sale via Amazon.in. The smartwatch sports a 1.3-inch AMOLED display and packs a heart rate monitor and GPS. It is said to have a 5-day battery life. The Huawei Amazfit can show notifications for incoming calls, messages, and other applications. It is also comes with 11 sports modes and can track distance, time, pace, calories, speed, elevation and more.

While the likes of Vivo and Huaweiintroduced new phones this week in the country, HMD Global reduced the prices of two of the Nokia phones – Nokia 3.1 Plus and Nokia 5.1 Plus. The Nokia 3.1 Plus, which used to earlier retail at Rs. 11,499, can now be purchased at just Rs. 9,999. The new pricing is already in effect on Flipkart and Amazon. On the other hand, Nokia 5 Plus has received a price-cut of just Rs. 400. The phone was launched at Rs. 10,999 but can now be bought at Rs. 10,599. It is also no longer online-exclusive and can be grabbed from brick-and-mortar retailers as well.

This week was also exciting for smartphone camera enthusiasts as Oppo teased its 10x hybrid optical zoom camera for smartphones. The new camera module expands on the company's previously showcased 5x hybrid optical zoom technology and now packs a triple camera setup. The new setup includes an ultrawide-angle camera, a primary camera, and a third camera with periscope style setup for the telephoto action. The Chinese smartphone maker has promised to reveal more details at the upcoming Mobile World Congress.

The company also talked about a new in-display fingerprint sensor that has a 15-times bigger active area than the competing sensor. Oppo wasn't the only one talking about new in-display fingerprint sensor, Xiaomi also teased a new sensor, which has an expanded sensor active area. The company, however, didn't reveal when we can actually see it in a smartphone.

Several important entertainment-related developments also made headlines this week, leading with the Game of Thrones season eight premier date. Late last-Sunday HBO releasedthe first teaser for the final season of the Game of Thrones (GoT) and announced that the season will premiere on April 15. The Indian fans of the series will be able to watch it on Hotstar or Star World. There are only six episodes in the last season, but they are most likely going to be feature-length.

Game of Thrones and other entertainment news

GoT has become a pop culture juggernaut over the last several years with audience size increasing with every passing season. HBO is already working on several spin-offs of the TV series, which is based on A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy book series by George R. R. Martin.

Spider-Man may have turned to dust at the end of Avengers: Infinity War but that didn't stop the Web Slinger from appearing in the first trailer for Spider-Man: Far From Home. This Sony-produced sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming is scheduled to hit the cinema halls on July 5, over a month after Avengers: Endgame graces the screen on April 26. The Spider-Man: Far From Home trailer may have “spoiled” the fate of Spider-Man, but the same remains unclear for other Avengers, who were turned to dust at the end of Infinity War.

The 42 Most Anticipated Films of 2019

In a surprise move, Netflix, Hotstar, Jio, and six other streaming services came together earlier this week to sign a voluntary self-regulation code. This code will define what kind of content is not allowed on these streaming platforms, including anything that disrespects the national flag or emblem, has children engaged in real or simulated sex, offends religious sentiments, and promotes or encourages terrorism. Amazon Prime Video as well as smaller players like Hungama and Viu were missing from the signatories of this code of conduct.

PUBG in the news

Moving to gaming, PUBG continued to make news, whether it was for an update to the mobile version of the game or a student body's call to ban it or for the release of a clone from Xiaomi. First, the PUBG Mobile 0.10.5 update was released this week and brings the “classic” voice option, Royale Pass Season 5, and more. The Jammu & Kashmir Students Association on Thursday asked the state's governor Satya Pal Naik to ban the game Immediately. The student body blamed the game for poor results and dubbed it as a “future spoiler.” Lastly, Xiaomi released its PUBG-like Survival Game in Mi Apps store on January 17.

Fortnite on Tuesday introduced a new update with version number 7.20, which is available on all platforms. The update adds a new One Shot Limited Time Mode, an arctic island to the game's Creative Mode, as well as a new weapon in the scoped revolver. There are some platform-specific fixes on-board as well.

Among other key developments from the week, Paytm partnered with Zomato to offer online food ordering on its platform, taking on the likes of Swiggy and Foodpanda. Elsewhere, Myntra and Jabong CEO Ananth Narayanan stepped down to pursue external opportunities.

Spotify seems to finally have an India launch date. It is still unofficial, but the company's terms and conditions indicate that we could see Spotify in the country on January 31. The music streaming giant recently partnered with T-Series for its massive content library.

On a concerning note, a massive data breach was discovered this week. According to researcher Troy Hunt, the Collection #1 data dump includes 773 Million Email IDs and 21 Million Passwords.

Also, Google bought some tech from Fossil and Samsung's upcoming 5Gphone maybe called Samsung Galaxy S10 X. The Galaxy S10 X, along with Galaxy F, Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10E, and Galaxy S10+, is expected to unveiled on February 20.