The original Garena Free Fire was updated with high-resolution graphics and released as Garena Free Fire Max last year. The popular battle royale game Garena Free Fire is among the apps and games that the Indian government has forbidden. Fans were disappointed by the game’s inaccessibility in India. The good news for fans of multiplayer battle royale is that there is still a suitable alternative to the banned game available on app stores. How to play Garena Free Fire Max The Garena Free Fire Max game has 50 players competing in the battle royale mode. As a multiplayer battle royale game, it gained popularity in the country. In addition to being able to pick their starting positions in this game, players can also gather suppliers and weaponry to help them survive on the battlefield. But in a battle royale action-adventure game, there can only be one winner. Garena Free Fire Max redeem codes The developers of the game are always incorporating new alphanumeric codes into it. Players can win complimentary prizes by using these codes. These codes can also be used to unlock different steps and acquire various reward points.
Check out the Garena Free Fire Max redeem codes for today (January 23): X99TK56XDJ4X FF7MUY4ME6SC WEYVGQC3CT8Q 3IBBMSL7AK8G J3ZKQ57Z2P2P FFDBGQWPNHJX TDK4JWN6RD6 4TPQRDQJHVP4 GCNVA2PDRGRZ XFW4Z6Q882WY HFNSJ6W74Z48 HHNAT6VKQ9R7 2FG94YCW9VMV 4ST1ZTBE2RP9 8F3QZKNTLWBZ V44ZZ5YY7CBS WD2ATK3ZEA55 E2F86ZREMK49 B3G7A22TWDR7X MCPW3D28VZD6 FFCMCPSGC9XZ FFCMCPSEN5MX ZZZ76NT3PDSH EYH2W3XK8UPG FFCMCPSUYUY7E NPYFATT3HGSQ MCPW2D2WKWF2 V427K98RUCHZ MCPW2D1U3XA3 FFCMCPSJ99S3 6KWMFJVMQQYG BR43FMAPYEZZ UVX9PYZV54AC XZJZE25WEFJJ HNC95435FAGJ Follow the below steps to redeem Garena Free Fire Max redeem codes for today (January 23): Step 1: Go to the official redemption page: https://reward.ff.garena.com/en/ Step 2: Log in with your social media accounts, such as Facebook, Google, Twitter, or VK IDs. Step 3: Players can now copy and paste the redeem codes into the text field and confirm their actions by clicking the “confirm” button. Step 4: After the confirmation, a dialogue box will appear for cross-referencing. To redeem the codes, hit the OK button. Note:
Players should go to the in-game mail section to claim their prize.
These codes will not work on guest accounts. In order to receive the rewards, you can connect your account to Facebook or VK.
Coin Master is a single-player mobile game that can be downloaded from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store. This game has become increasingly popular in recent years, with over 100 million downloads. Coin Master was created by the Israel-based studio Moon Active and was released in 2015. The goal of the game is to construct your own village. The Coin Master also has a time slot machine that can help you get additional coins and other sundries to help you enhance your community. Players must spin the slot machine and collect free gifts in order to fully build their hamlet. Unfortunately, the game only allows five spins per hour, and if you run out, you’ll have to wait an hour. Fortunately, players can gather coins in this game in a variety of ways. Players can raid and attack the towns of other players in order to steal cash. You can even get free extra spins in this game. Coin Master offers free spins that can be used to gather coins and other prizes. To obtain Coin Master Free Spins and Coins today, simply follow the procedures outlined here.
How to get Coin Master Free Spins and Coins for today (January 23): Step 1: To get the rewards, first log in to your Facebook account in the game. Step 2: Go to this link for a free spin: Link 1, Link 2 and Link 3. Step 3: After being routed, you will be prompted to log in to your Facebook account in order to link the spins to your account.
Wordle is a web-based puzzle game owned by The New York Times. It was created in 2021 by Josh Wardle and features a daily puzzle where users have six attempts to guess the “word of the day.” The colour of the tiles changes to help users figure out the correct word, with grey indicating the letter is not part of the word, yellow indicating the letter is part of the word but in the wrong location, and green indicating the letter is in the correct location and part of the “Word of the day.” Wordle 583 is the puzzle for January 23; this article provides hints, clues, and answers to the puzzle. Wordle is an online puzzle game popular among people who want to use their time productively. If you are having trouble with the Wordle 583 puzzle for January 23, 2023, the following hints and clues may help you solve it:
Wordle hints and clues for today, January 23, 2023, are stated here for our readers: Wordle 583 hints and clues, January 23, 2023, are:
Today’s Wordle starts with a vowel and ends with a vowel.
It is a verb.
Today’s Wordle contains three vowels.
There is one duplicate letter.
Still, stuck? If you could not find the answers, fret not, we have got it all figured out for you: ELUDE is the solution to Wordle 583 for January 23, 2023. If you keep winning for two or more days in a row, you will be awarded a winning streak. This will continue till the time you fail to guess the correct word. If you lose, the streak will be broken.
Days after finally rolling out Twitter Blue for Android, Elon Musk has indicated that another paid option could soon arrive on Twitter. Musk tweeted that ads were “too big” and “too frequent” on Twitter and that the social media platform would address this soon. “Ads are too frequent on Twitter and too big. Taking steps to address both in coming weeks,” he said in a tweet. In a follow-up tweet, he said that Twitter will soon have an option where users don’t see any ads but it will come at a cost. “Also, there will be a higher priced subscription that allows zero ads,” Musk said in a tweet. No word on when ‘ad-free’ Twitter will come Musk hasn’t given any timeline on when the higher-priced subscription model will arrive. Nor has he indicated how much will it cost. Currently, Twitter has Twitter Blue — priced between $8 to $11 — where users get a host of features and see “less” ads. Ads are still part of Twitter Blue but subscribers see less of them compared to those who aren’t a part of it. There are other features also that subscribers get as part of Twitter Blue. Twitter Blue includes a number of features like Bookmark Folders, which lets Twitter Blue subscribers group and organise Bookmarked Tweets into folders for faster discovery later. Twitter Blue allows users an unlimited number of bookmarks and Bookmark folders which are always private. Also, Twitter Blue lets users choose different coloured themes. Users also get Custom App icons, which they can change. Users also get the much-wanted Undo Tweet feature. This gives users the option to retract a tweet after they send it, but before it’s visible to others on Twitter. “It’s not an edit* button, but a chance to preview and revise your Tweet before it’s posted for the world to see,” noted Twitter.
Time stops for no one, and so we’re already looking towards the iPhone 15, despite the fact that the iPhone 14 has only just been unveiled.
The iPhone 15 will likely be along in late 2023, unless Apple pulls a wildcard by using the ’14S’ name or something similar. That seems unlikely though, as we’ve already been hearing leaks and rumors using the iPhone 15 name.
Yes, that’s right – pre-release information about the upcoming iPhone is already out there, this far in advance. That’s not a total surprise, as Apple leaks sometimes take place years in advance of the product launch.
To give you a (very early) idea as to how the upcoming phone – as well as its family of siblings – will look, we’ve compiled all the news, rumors and predictions here. Expect this article to see many updates between late 2022 and September 2023.
Cut to the chase
What is it? Apple’s 2023 generation of smartphones
When is it out? Likely September 2023
How much will it cost? Possible price increase over iPhone 14
iPhone 15 release date
We haven’t heard any iPhone 15 release date or launch date rumors yet, but that’s to be expected – they rarely occur more than a month before the launch event itself.
For the iPhone 14, that event fell on September 7, with three of the four phones going on sale over a week later, on September 16 (and the iPhone 14 Plus on October 7). Apple generally picks the first or second week of September for its launches, and usually opts for a Tuesday, though occasionally goes for a Wednesday event.
In 2023, that means September the 5 or 12 are quite likely (both are Tuesdays), though the 6 and 13 are possibilities too.
The entire iPhone 14 family (Image credit: Apple)
iPhone 15 price
With regards to the price, again we haven’t heard many leaks or rumors, but the iPhone 14 range presented a slight price increase over the iPhone 13 equivalents. This could be repeated in 2023 for the iPhone 15.
For context, while there are four members of the iPhone 14 family, here are the prices for the cheapest, and most expensive, options:
iPhone 14 128GB: $799 / £849 / AU$1,399
iPhone 14 Pro Max 1TB: $1,599 / £1,749 / AU$2,769
So that’s the full scope of the current range’s pricing, though obviously there are many devices and storage choices between those points.
As for the iPhone 15 line, one price rumor points to the iPhone 15 Ultra – a new phone that could land in place of an iPhone 15 Pro Max – starting at $1,199 (likely around £1,309 / AU$2,099 based on Apple’s typical pricing) at best.
The iPhone 14 Pro Max starts at $1,099 / £1,199 / AU$1,899, so if accurate the next model would be at least $100 more expensive.
However, the iPhone 15 Plus might be cheaper than the iPhone 14 Plus according to a leak. This change would be because the iPhone 14 Plus isn’t selling brilliantly. For reference, the iPhone 14 Plus starts at $899 / £949 / AU$1,579.
iPhone 15 news, rumors and leaks
We’ve heard quite a few iPhone 15 rumors, though these have come out across a very broad span of time, so it’s not quite clear which are still accurate and which are old news.
Some of these seem obvious – one report says that Apple is working on the 3nm A17 Bionic chip for the iPhone 15. Given that the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max use the A16 Bionic, and that 17 is one higher than 16, we could have guessed this anyway.
One report goes into more detail though, saying that the A17 Bionic should be more efficient than the A16 Bionic, which would likely lead to improved battery life.
However, the iPhone 14 used the older A15 Bionic chip, also seen in the iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max, and another report suggests that this new trend – of the non-Pro phones using the older chipsets – may well continue. That’s a claim we’ve heard multiple times, so in other words the standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus might use an A16 Bionic.
Sticking with chipsets, it seems likely that Qualcomm will be supplying the 5G modem again. The Snapdragon X70 looks certain to get picked, offering improved performance from the Snapdragon X65 in the iPhone 14.
As for the other specs, we’ve heard predictions that the Pro models are going to make the jump to 8GB of RAM with the iPhone 15, and will also come with periscope cameras that should improve the telephoto zoom capabilities.
That’s not the only possible camera upgrade though, with another source saying a new Sony sensor will be used, one that’s state-of-the-art, captures more light than current sensors, and avoids overexposing or underexposing shots.
Plus, all four models might have a 48MP main sensor according to analyst Jeff Pu (via 9to5Mac (opens in new tab)), which would be an upgrade for the cheapest two.
We might also see a USB-C port on every iPhone 15 model. The EU has told Apple that it has to add USB-C charging ports to iPhones from 2024, but lots of fans believe that Apple will adopt the charging standard earlier, in 2023, instead – and at least one leak points in that direction.
More recently we’ve heard another reputable source say the entire iPhone 15 line will get USB-C, but they added that only the Pro models will offer upgraded data transfer speeds.
These two phones could apparently have data transfer speeds of either 20Gbps or 40Gbps, while the standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Max would reportedly be stuck with the same 480Mbps speeds as the current models.
Saying that, some fans are hoping that Apple doesn’t ditch its own Lightning port any time soon, even suggesting that the company could unveil a totally portless iPhone first.
That’s looking unlikely though as Apple has now confirmed that it will switch to USB-C – at least in Europe, though the company hasn’t said whether it will make the change globally. Nor has it said which model will be the first iPhone to get USB-C, so it might not be the iPhone 15.
The iPhone 14 Pro’s Dynamic Island. (Image credit: TechRadar)
A big iPhone 14 Pro feature is that ‘Dynamic Island’, a fancy marketing name for the ‘punch-hole’ front-facing camera that Apple is using, and a leak suggests that the non-Pro iPhone 15 models could get this too.
We’ve also more recently heard from elsewhere that every iPhone 15 model will get the Dynamic Island – but that the standard phone and the iPhone 15 Plus will be stuck with a 60Hz screen still.
Contradicting that Dynamic Island claim, though, is the belief from some that the iPhone 15 series could use under-display cameras, that sit below the phone screen to ensure no display space is taken up. However, at TechRadar, we’re not too sure about this one.
For the last few generations of iPhone, Apple has split the line into the ‘standard’ and ‘Pro’ ranges, with the latter bringing more features over the former; within each range, the only major difference is the screen size. But with the iPhone 15, the Pro models could be even more fractured, as it sounds like the ‘Pro Max’ is moving on.
A big leaker suggests that the iPhone 15 Pro Max will actually be called the iPhone 15 Ultra – following on from Apple’s adoption of this suffix elsewhere – and will bring extra features over the iPhone 15 Pro.
A key example listed is in the camera department, as while the iPhone 15 Pro is expected to retain the telephoto zoom lens of the 14 Pro, the iPhone 15 Ultra is rumored to get a periscope lens for even further zooming, likely around 5x. We’ve actually heard this quite a few times now, from various sources, making it sound very likely.
We’ve also heard from leaker LeaksApplePro (opens in new tab), that the iPhone 15 Ultra might have a titanium build, which should be both lighter and stronger than the stainless steel that’s used on current Pro models.
A similar claim has been made by another source, though they were less specific about which models might use titanium. They added though that the sides might curve towards the back of the phone on the iPhone 15 line, rather than being a right angle like with the iPhone 14.
These curved sides are still being decided on by Apple though according to another source, so there’s a chance they won’t happen.
Another rumor suggests that all four iPhone 15 models are going to get slightly curved edges – so we might be heading back to the iPhone 11 look – while the Pro and Pro Max (or Ultra) phones will have thinner bezels too.
Apple set off a tectonic shift in the iPhone world last year when it added a new device, and a new naming scheme to the iPhone 14 line-up, with the iPhone 14 Plus.
Originally believed to be the ‘iPhone 14 Max’ and designed to complement the sizeable iPhone 14 Pro Max – with a simpler chip, display and camera system, the 14 Plus also showed that Apple wasn’t beyond reworking its product names for better clarity.
Rumors now suggest that the company will apply a similar treatment to the top of 2023’s iPhone lineup. Instead of the iPhone 15 Pro Max, it’s starting to look like we’ll be introduced to an ‘iPhone 15 Ultra’, set to sit above the iPhone 15 Pro.
The naming is not out-of-character for Apple. The company just launched an extreme version of its smartwatch – loaded to the gills with features – called the Apple Watch Ultra.
The notion of an Apple iPhone 15 Ultra makes sense to us and breaking away from the Pro in name will give Apple better justify any differences Apple decides to inject into its two most capable 2023 iPhones. It’s likely that the 15 Ultra will be more than just a bigger screen and battery, as is the case with the current iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max.
Cut to the chase
What is it? The biggest and baddest of Apple’s expected 2023 iPhones
When is it out? Likely September 2023
How much will it cost? Probably even more than the iPhone 14 Pro Max
iPhone 15 Ultra release date predictions
Apple events historically happen in the first or second week of September. The company likes to make an announcement on a Tuesday or Wednesday, then start pre-sales the same Friday. The phone usually arrives in stores the Friday following.
For the iPhone 14, that event fell on September 7 (admittedly, earlier than expected), with three of the four phones going on sale over a week later, on September 16 (the iPhone 14 Plus arrived on October 7).
In 2023, that means September 5 or 12 are likely event dates (both are Tuesdays), though the 6 and 13 are possibilities too. We could see the phone in stores as early as September 15.
Apple’s current top dog: the iPhone 14 Pro Max (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
iPhone 15 Ultra price leaks
The early leaks about how Apple will price the iPhone 15 Ultra are telling. Apple may start the Ultra phone at $1,199. This would put the phone in the same pricing tier as Samsung’s current “Ultra” device, the Galaxy S22 Ultra. That phone costs $1,199.99 / £1,149 / AU$1,849.
However, a more recent leak suggests it could be even pricier, at $1,299, likely equating to £1,429 / AU$2,249 in other regions.
The current iPhone 14 Pro Max costs $1,099 / £1,199 / AU$1,899, which itself represents a price hike outside of the US market over last year’s model. We think it’s possible that when Apple switches from ‘Pro Max’ to ‘Ultra’, it will bump the price by $100 or $200 in the US with corresponding price hikes elsewhere.
Hopefully, that price increase will also come with more reasons to buy. The current iPhone 14 Pro Max gives you a bigger screen and battery than the standard 14 Pro, and that’s it. That’s a big bonus for $100, but if Apple is going to push the price even higher, it needs to offer more features and more hardware to justify the price.
Fortunately, one source claims that the starting capacity will be 256GB, which is double the starting size of current models, and would go some way to justifying the price.
We have already heard quite a bit about the expected iPhone 15 with rumors reaching back to before the iPhone 14 series’ launch, but only recently has news of a higher-tier Apple iPhone 15 Ultra emerged. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman mentioned right after launch of the 14 line that an Ultra would be coming, and that was the first we had heard of this new possible nomenclature.
Like I said yesterday: Ultra is coming. https://t.co/IrZUBHlLN2September 9, 2022
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After that, we heard further confirmation from other iPhone 15 leaks, and one leaker suggested that in addition to a bigger screen and battery, the iPhone 15 Ultra could see a better camera setup than its iPhone 15 Pro sibling.
The iPhone 14 Pro Max cameras (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
The information came across rather vague, with the leak saying that Apple was testing a much-anticipated 8K video recording feature for its next iPhone, but the leaker was unsure if this feature would be coming to the iPhone 15 Pro or just the higher-end iPhone 15 Ultra. This set off speculation that the Ultra phone could see camera improvements over the Pro.
Samsung’s Galaxy S22 Ultra is a step ahead of its Galaxy S22 Plus and base model Galaxy S22, and one significant improvement is the addition of a periscope-style telephoto zoom lens. Leaks suggest Apple could also use a periscope zoom on its larger Ultra device, and size requirements for such a lens would make more sense on the larger phone compared to the smaller iPhone 15 Pro that is expected next fall too.
Another camera upgrade could come in the form of a new Sony sensor that apparently captures more light and is better at avoiding overexposing or underexposing shots than current smartphone cameras, even in tricky scenes where the foreground lighting is very different to the background.
We’ve also heard that the Ultra might have a dual-lens front-facing camera, with the same source also saying it might only come in one shade – the same silver color as the Apple Watch Ultra.
Elsewhere there’s a reputable source claiming that the Pro models of the iPhone 15 line (presumably including the iPhone 15 Ultra) will get a USB-C port with support for data transfer speeds of up to either 20Gbps or 40Gbps, up from just 480Mbps on current iPhones.
Of course, it’s sure to be very powerful too. Expect an A17 Bionic chipset, which a source claims might be a lot more efficient than the A16 Bionic used by the iPhone 14 Pro line, which could in turn lead to better battery life.
Beyond that, we’ve also heard that the iPhone 15 Ultra might be clad in titanium, which is typically stronger and lighter than the stainless steel used by the iPhone 14 Pro Max. This claim comes from a tweet by leaker LeaksApplePro (opens in new tab), who isn’t one of the biggest leakers but has been right before.
Another source has now said the same, so this might well be true. This second source has added that the sides will apparently be a different shape too, with them curving in to the rear of the phone, rather than being a right angle.
A further rumor has suggested that the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 15 Ultra are going to have thinner bezels than their predecessors, and that all the models in the range are set to have curved edges.
Another design tweak could come in the form of solid-state power and volume buttons, which sit flush with the body of the phone and don’t physically move.
Super Bowl Sunday is officially three weeks away, and if you’re looking to score a deal on a premium display – you’re in luck. We’ve spotted Samsung’s 65-inch art-inspired The Frame TV on sale for $1,697.99 (opens in new tab) (was $1,997.99) at Amazon. That’s a $300 discount and just $60 more than the record-low price we saw back in October of last year.
The 2022 Samsung The Frame TV delivers a stunning picture thanks to its QLED display and transforms into a beautiful work of art when you aren’t watching TV. The Samsung set features a dedicated Art Mode, allowing you to choose from various picture frame options to display classic artworks or photography. You’re also getting customizable bezels, so you can select a style and color to match your home decor, and smart capabilities with Amazon Alexa built-in for hands-free control.
Keep in mind, today’s offer on Samsung’s 65-inch The Frame TV is the best deal you can find right now and only $60 more than the lowest-ever price. You’ll find more of today’s best Super Bowl TV deals further down the page, which includes a wide range of prices and features from brands like LG, TCL, and more.
Super Bowl TV deal
See more of today’s best Super Bowl TV deals below, which include a wide range of prices and features from brands like LG, TCL, and more.
Nvidia’s new RTX 4070 Ti GPU has sold more than both AMD’s high-end RDNA 3 graphics cards combined, going by some fresh sales stats.
As VideoCardz (opens in new tab) spotted, sales figures from German retailer MindFactory were posted on Twitter by TechEpiphany (who regularly shares statistics from this major outlet), showing what happened in week three of 2023.
And it was a big win for Nvidia in terms of current-gen models, with the RTX 4070 Ti selling 545 units. That proved to be more than the RX 7900 XTX and 7900 XT combined, which shifted 300 and 200 units respectively (500 total). Notably, the 4070 Ti was also the best-selling single GPU out of all models from AMD, Intel and Nvidia.
When you add in RTX 4080 sales to Nvidia’s tally – that GPU managed 190 units – you end up with 735 units for Team Green versus 500 units for Team Red, a fairly clear win even without putting in the total for the RTX 4090 (which sold 210 units, and that’d push Nvidia to not far off 1,000 Lovelace GPUs sold for the week).
Interestingly, the second best-selling graphics card was also an Nvidia offering, the RTX 3060, which wasn’t far behind the 4070 Ti and amassed sales of 485 units.
In third place was AMD’s top seller, the RX 6700 XT, which tallied an impressive 410 units for the week.
What about Intel? Well, Team Blue was way behind the big two GPU makers, with the Arc A770 and A380 only racking up 10 units apiece (making them equal 21st with a bunch of other cards, many of them very long in the tooth like the Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti and the GT 730).
Analysis: The price is right – or at least, a bit more right than the alternatives?
This is an interesting snapshot of current GPU sales, but we must remember these are figures from a single retailer, so just a small sample of the overall market. So let’s not get carried away, but clearly it’s very interesting to see the RTX 4070 Ti muscling out the combined totals of both its RDNA 3 rivals.
There are likely a couple of reasons for this. Firstly, the RTX 4070 Ti pitched in at its MSRP (recommended price) right out of the gate (rather than being inflated). And secondly, that MSRP is more palatable than any other current-gen graphics card out there (all of which are higher-end models, of course). The RX 7900 XT does come close at $100 (around £80 / AU$145) more for the MSRP – actually at MindFactory, it’s just over €30 (around $33 / £26 / AU$47) more, at least at the time of writing, though the gap may well have been wider during the week for which these figures were compiled.
So seemingly it’s as simple as the fact that if you want a really powerful graphics card – remember, the RTX 4070 Ti offers RTX 3090 level performance, with DLSS 3 for boosting supported games, and lower power usage – this is about as good as it currently gets. You’ll still pay through the nose for that privilege, but not quite as much as with the other current-gen options on the table. (And last-gen cards remain pricey, too, with even the RTX 3080 only being 13% cheaper than the 4070 Ti at MindFactory right now).
The smart call, for now perhaps, might be to wait for the RTX 4070 to show itself. This GPU could arrive soon going by the rumor mill, and perhaps we’ll finally get a glimpse of some properly affordable pricing with Lovelace (relatively speaking – maybe we should call it semi-affordable, perhaps, though some speculation points to Nvidia going heavier with the price tag than we would like).
NXP Semiconductors, a world leader in secure connectivity solutions for embedded applications, inaugurated a new Systems & Silicon Innovation lab at NXP Semiconductors Campus in Manyata Tech Park, Bengaluru. The innovation lab was inaugurated by the Union Minister of State for Electronics & IT and Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Rajeev Chandrasekhar. After the inauguration, NXP showcased its products and solutions to the minister that includes Automotive, Industrial & IoT, Consumer, and Communication Infrastructure Focus Markets. During the event, he also interacted with NXP-Mentored Startups and encouraged them to continue to work on strengthening the semiconductor ecosystem in India with a stronger vision and roadmap while making good use of government incentives and industry partnerships. The lab will be used to design, verify and validate NXP technologies in areas of Security, Connectivity, Sensing, and Processing and build market-specific system solutions in automotive, Industrial, IoT, and Consumer areas. In addition, NXP Semiconductors’ also presented their products and solutions, highlighting leadership in Automotive, Security, and Connectivity with technologies like RADAR, Ultrawide Band (UWB), 5G, NFC, and DRM. NXP is playing an important role in strengthening the local manufacturing ecosystem with applications in 4G/5G, Secure authentication of goods, E-metering for Electricity boards, E-passports, Transport Ticketing cards, etc. In automotive, NXP touched upon their recent contributions towards the growth of the Indian 2-wheeler ecosystem with some of the major players working in areas like BMS, ADAS, and emerging automotive technologies. While talking about the inauguration, Hitesh Garg, India Country Manager, NXP Semiconductors said, “The team at NXP India consistently emphasizes creating cutting-edge solutions that are secure and safe for end users. We are happy to announce the launch of our new R&D lab that will push innovation in the semiconductor industry in India. Talking further about the startup ecosystem, he added, Government initiatives like Design Linked Incentive schemes are laying special emphasis on strengthening the startup ecosystem in the country. It is the need of the hour for global corporates to work on corporate-startup collaborations to give momentum to newer IP and SoC areas, specific needs of the Indian ecosystem, and system solutions for ESDM incumbents in India.
With a view to ramping up its retail footprint at the sub district level, Vodafone-Idea (Vi) is launching 75 new format ‘Vi Shops’ across multiple towns in Bihar and Jharkhand. Smaller towns like Arrah, Barauni, Bettiah, Buxar, Chausa, Deoriya, Hajipur, Katihar, Masauri, Motihari, Sitamarhi, amongst others in Bihar now get access to quick, efficient, face-to-face service from Vi, along with a range of differentiated products and offerings for the new age mobile users in the region. Similar Vi Shops are also being launched in smaller towns like Baliyapur, Giridih, Daltoganj, Dumka, Jharia, Ramgarh in Jharkhand. The Vodafone-Idea Shops concept for Tier-3 towns is intended to deliver a uniform Vi experience to local customers, enabling quick support and handholding. The modern design of the new format store is in line with signature elements that define existing Vi Stores in urban locations. Vi Shops will offer the entire bouquet of Vi prepaid products and services and enable the less tech savvy users to avail Vi’s service across the table, leading to improved customer experience and closer engagement. ‘Going rural way’ Through this format, Vodafone-Idea also aims to deepen in engagement with rural consumers with the wide bouquet of Telco++ offerings, curated as a result of partnerships with domain experts in areas such as jobs and skilling, government exam preparation, English language skills amongst others. One of the earliest to introduce the concept of one-stop shop retail outlets in global design format, Vi claims that it has planned the new rural prepaid stores by consistently adapting and reinventing to provide a live and engaging experience in line with changing customer needs. The look and feel of the Vi store is said to be designed to address customer aspirations while capturing Vi’s core brand attitude. Inviting residents of the two states to try out the Vi Shop experience, Sukanta Das, Cluster Business Head – East, Vodafone Idea Limited, said “The states of Bihar & Jharkhand have a vast geographical spread of smaller towns in rural settings. We have found that a large segment of customers in Rural India prefer the comfort and familiarity of face-to-face service through the physical Retail format. We have introduced the Vi Shop concept to cater to this demand, in the process enabling Rural residents to digitally connect for a better future. Vi customers in several Tier 3 towns in Bihar & Jharkhand can now walk into the neighbourhood Vi shop with assured ease and simplicity in accessing service through trained personnel in welcoming surroundings.”
