Archives February 2023

Comviva has announced that its Communication Platform as a Service (CPaaS) solution, which is powered by Microsoft Azure, is now available for telecom companies. A subsidiary of Tech Mahindra, Comviva is a leader in customer experience and data monetisation solutions.
Comviva’s CPaaS solution, called Ngage, will leverage the benefits of Microsoft Cloud to make it simpler for telecom companies to offer secure, scalable, and open communication platforms to enterprises. It enables real-time communication capabilities, helping enterprises enhance and personalise their end-user customer experience seamlessly across channels.
AI capabilities in Comviva’s CPaaS
Comviva’s CPaaS full-stack platform powers both one-way and two-way communications across various messaging interfaces and protocols. The platform supports messaging services and chats powered with conversational AI capabilities across the industry verticals.

Its cognitive automation and Natural Language Processing (NLP) capabilities empower enterprises to deliver enriched customer experiences by automating user interactions in a human-like language.
“We are intensely committed to delivering integrated modern customer experiences and monetisation capabilities and investing in new technologies to set ourselves up for future success,” said Manoranjan Mohapatra, chief executive officer at Comviva.
“With Comviva CPaaS, Communication Services Providers shall monetise and accelerate innovation with agility. This shall empower them to meet the growing demands of enterprises where every campaign requires personalised variations, tighter consistency across channels, and shorter turnaround times,” Mohapatra.

“We’re pleased that Comvivas’ innovative Ngage CPaaS solution takes advantage of Azure’s secure and scalable AI and natural language services. The modern digital experiences that CPaaS is delivering will enable Telcos to bring secure communication channels and services to customers,” added Marianne Roling, Vice President, Global Systems Integrators, Microsoft.
With a cloud-based delivery model, Ngage CPaaS seamlessly integrates with business applications and enables secure real-time customer interactions serving all customer engagement use cases from marketing to operations to customer service.
It enables enterprises to communicate with their end customers through the appropriate context and channels over a secure, scalable and open cloud communication platform.

Samsung R&D Institute Noida (SRI-N) is a global R&D Center that develops solutions that suits global and local market needs with the commercialisation of products. SRI-N contributes towards the development of smartphones and other innovations. The organisation closely collaborates with teams in South Korea and has made contributions to innovations in the new Galaxy S23 series. SRI-N engineers contributed in areas like user experience, health features, performance improvement, and user safety in the Galaxy S23 series.
Improved user experience
The Galaxy to Share app has been developed to allow users to share all customisations and own personalisation settings across Galaxy devices in India. Similarly, the multi-timer feature enables the user to simultaneously have multiple timers, all at the same time, for different activities and tasks.
The Bedtime Alarm feature allows users to customise alarm timings day-wise. To enhance communication, the Direct Dial 4X1 widget has been added to the S23 Home Screen for easy accessibility of priority contacts and dialling them with a single touch. SRI-N developed these apps and features to provide the most seamless and intuitive experience to customers while providing a wide scope for customisation.
Health feature development and performance improvement
With domain expertise in health and wearables, SRI-N engineers have been focused on enhancing health features in the flagship devices. The Galaxy S23 series is equipped with a new Sleep tracker widget on the home screen, which enables users to track their sleeping patterns and sleep score very easily. Similarly, the Water tracker feature allows users to set their own day-wise water intake targets and sends reminders at custom scheduled timings.
SRI-N engineers also contributed towards the improvements in the Samsung Health trackers like water, body composition, cycle and heart rate tracking. Such features have been developed, keeping in mind the preference of Gen Z and millennials who like to balance their physical health, fitness, and mindfulness.

User safety
As technology advances, more personal information is required to offer a better user experience and keep users safe. To provide the best experience, engineers at SRI-N have developed the Emergency SOS and Emergency Sharing feature to enable users to send help messages with their own location information and video recording during an emergency, all through a simple action of pressing the power button 3 times. The action initiates the emergency call, which is then followed by the emergency message.
“The domain of mobile technology is constantly changing in today’s world. As an R&D Centre, SRI-N is developing innovative and intuitive mobile experiences that empower, educate and enrich the lives of our customers. Our responsibility to provide innovative technology to our customers has deepened. With our domain expertise and skill sets, SRI-N is constantly developing innovative products that attract consumers and also shape the future of technology,” said KY Roo, MD of Samsung R&D Institute – Noida.

Portronics has expanded its product portfolio with a new laptop docking station named Mport 13C. This accessory is a 13-in-1 USB-C docking station which is supported by MacBooks and Windows laptops. Expensive lightweight laptops like MacBook don’t include important ports like — HDMI, Ethernet, or even standard USB ports. Other brands are also eliminating most communication ports to reduce the overall size, thickness, and weight of a laptop to make it highly portable and lightweight. The USB-C/Thunderbolt port or two is what users are left with. To get standard ports, users have to purchase expensive adapters, which are not convenient.
Portonics Mport 13C: Pricing and availability
The Portronics Mport 13C USB-C Docking Station is available in the market at a discounted price of INR 3,999 (actual price Rs 7,999) which is backed with a 1-year warranty. Users can purchase this product from the company’s official website Portronics.com, Amazon, Flipkart and other leading online and offline stores.
Portonics Mport 13C: Key features
The Mport 13C has 13 ports that allow for simultaneous communication using a single USB-C or Thunderbolt Port on a laptop. The dock supports multiple USB ports including USB-C and PD, dual display ports, flash card slots and an RJ45 Ethernet port. Two USB-C ports and four USB 3.0 ports are available for high-speed data transfers. Users can also connect older devices such as keyboards or mice, or can plug in the latest high-speed external storage drives.

For a stable internet connection, there’s also a high-speed 100mbps Ethernet port. If you need to switch from your laptop screen to your projector or need to use a multiple monitor setup for your desk, you can plug in your monitor to either the VGA or HDMI port. Users can also stream audio to their desktop speakers with a 3.5mm audio jack, transfer media files using the SD/TF Card slots, and more. Users can also charge their laptops while the dock is connected to Thunderbolt 3 / PD Pass-through port that can support up to 87W chargers.
The Portronics Mport 13C is a multi-port accessory for laptops and MacBooks. It is built using a strong anti-scratch aluminium-magnesium alloy body and designed with a shape that also doubles as a laptop stand that not only allows for convenient working by placing your laptop at an angle, but also helps cool your laptop with efficient air intake from the bottom. The docking station also sports rubber feet for better grip on your desktop.

Most years the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip line doesn’t have much competition, but in 2022 that all changed, as the Motorola Razr 2022 became a serious rival to the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4.

This wasn’t Motorola’s first clamshell foldable, but it was the company’s first genuinely great one, and it’s left us with high hopes for the Motorola Razr 2023.

Google scientists said they have passed a major milestone in their quest to develop effective quantum computing, with a new study showing they reduced the rate of errors — long an obstacle for the much-hyped technology.
Quantum computing has been touted as a revolutionary advance that uses our growing scientific understanding of the subatomic world to create a machine with powers far beyond those of today’s conventional computers.
However the technology remains largely theoretical, with many thorny problems still standing in the way — including stubbornly high error rates.
In new research published in the journal Nature, the Google Quantum AI lab described a system that can significantly decrease the error rate.
That could give the US tech giant a step up on its rivals such as IBM, which is also working on superconducting quantum processors.
While traditional computers process information in bits that can be represented by 0 or 1, quantum computers use qubits, which can be a combination of both at the same time.
This property, known as superposition, means that a quantum computer can crunch an enormous number of potential outcomes simultaneously.
The computers harness some of the most mind-boggling aspects of quantum mechanics, including a phenomenon known as “entanglement” — in which two members of a pair of bits can exist in a single state, even if far apart.
– ‘Magic’ – But a problem called decoherence can cause the qubits to lose their information when they leave their quantum state and come into contact with the outside world.
This fragility causes high error rates, which also increase with the number of qubits, frustrating scientists wanting to ramp up their experiments.
However Google’s team said it had demonstrated for the first time in practice that a system using error-correcting code can detect and fix errors without affecting the information.
The system was first theorised in the 1990s, however previous attempts had just thrown up more errors, not less, said Google’s Hartmut Neven, a co-author of the study.
“But if all components of your system have sufficiently low error rates, then the magic of quantum error correction kicks in,” Neven told a press conference.
Julian Kelly, another study co-author, hailed the development as “a key scientific milestone”, saying that “quantum error correction is the single most important technology for the future of quantum computing”.
Neven said the result was still “not good enough, we need to get to an absolute low error rate”.
He added that “there are more steps to come” to achieve the dream of a useable quantum computer.
Google claimed in 2019 it had passed a milestone known as “quantum supremacy”, when the tech giant said its Sycamore machine executed a calculation in 200 seconds that would have taken a conventional supercomputer 10,000 years to complete.
However the achievement has since been disputed, with Chinese researchers saying last year that a supercomputer could have beaten Sycamore’s time.

Razer’s Blade 15 gaming laptop isn’t retiring just yet as the company has just launched two new 2023 variants in what may be a last hurrah for the model.

Looking at the specs, the two are nearly identical. Both laptops sport 14-core, 20-thread Intel i7-13800H processors that have an average clock speed of 2.5GHz that can be boosted to 5.2GHz for optimal performance. Alongside the CPUs are a 1TB SSD and a 16GB DDR5 RAM with a speed of 5,200 MHz. If that’s not enough for you, the Blade 15 can accommodate (opens in new tab) a 4TB SSD and 64GB DDR5 RAM. They also share the same type of display: a 15.6 inch Quad HD (2560 x 1440 pixels) screen outputting a 240Hz refresh rate and covering 100 percent of the DCI-P3 color space. Other notable features include support for Wi-Fi 6E for fast connectivity and THX Spatial Audio to really get you in the game. 

Using digital know-how at work, workers have contributed Rs 10.9 trillion ($507.9 billion) to the annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of India, as per a research conducted by Gallup in partnership with Amazon Web Services. These ‘advanced digital skills’ include fields such as cloud architecture, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and software development.
As part of the research titled “Asia Pacific Digital Skills Study: The Economic Benefits of a Tech-Savvy Workforce,” Gallup surveyed 2,005 working professionals and 769 employers in India. Companies from both private and public sectors were interviewed.

Digital skills reaping high profits and job satisfaction
80% of India-based organisations that have digitally skilled workers report higher annual revenue growth. However, 88% organisations say they face difficulties in hiring. Also, workers who use digital skills at their workplace earn 92% higher salaries than the ones who don’t despite sharing similar educational backgrounds.
Besides the higher salaries, workers with digital skills also expressed greater job satisfaction. Out of those with advanced digital skills, 91% expressed having job satisfaction. Moving on, the same sentiment was shared by 74% of those having intermediate digital skills such as drag-and-drop web design, troubleshooting, and data analysis. 70% workers with basic digital skills – use of email, office suites, and social media – resonated with the answer.

Emerging technologies and trends
The study also asked employers their pick for the emerging technology that would become the standard in the future. The options included 10 promising technologies such as AI, edge and quantum computing, blockchain, and cryptocurrency. 92% of the respondents said at least one of these would cement its place as the norm over the years. The favourite choice among the options was 5G, which garnered 78% of votes.
Reflecting on the research, Gallup’s principal economist Dr. Jonathan Rothwell said, “People in India are increasingly going digital, from the way they work to the way they live. This research shows that digital skills provide immense economic value to India at the individual, organizational, and macroeconomic level.”

The internet and e-commerce sectors in India are growing according to Ernst & Young (EY) and PeerCapital’s ‘E-commerce and Consumer Internet Trendbook 2023’.
The report claims that the Indian consumer internet sector raised $15.4 billion private equity/venture capital funds across over 500 deals in 2022. Additionally, the online shopping sector received $22 billion in investments, which is the second highest in the world.
Internet sector is on the rise for the next few years
The report also highlights consumer behaviour after the pandemic as a factor behind internet and e-commerce sectors becoming the fastest-growing in the country. EY Private partner KT Chandy said, “E-commerce and consumer internet sector in India has been on a growth spree in the last few years, emerging as the second largest online shopper base globally. The growth momentum is expected to continue, driven by improved digital infrastructure, rise in customer base and robust government initiatives.”
Looking into the near future, Chandy added, “Going forward into 2023, businesses are expected to embrace innovative methods of customer acquisition, while focusing on cash creation and profitability.”

Status quo in internet sector and prediction for this year
Another partner, Surabhi Marwah noted that 2023 was set to witness an increased focus on growing internet sector business in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. She said, “The year 2023 is going to see an increased focus on tier-2 and 3 cities to drive the exponential growth of internet businesses. Channels such as social commerce have helped brands build a trusted and loyal customer base in these important markets that will further propel the growth trajectory of the Indian e-commerce and consumer internet sectors.”

PeerCapital managing partner Ankur Pahwa underlined the status quo in the Indian internet sector. He mentioned, “As the financial stack goes global and our health stack expands by the day, India’s future holds massive innovation in supply chain digitisation, influencer-led social commerce, synchronization of healthcare data, and tech infusion in agriculture and clean energy.”
“We are confident that the e-commerce and consumer internet sector is going to be the largest value-creator, employer, and contributor to India’s GDP and a catalyst to the ambitious vision of India@100!,” Pahwa added.

Jio Haptik Technologies Limited (Haptik), a Conversational Commerce company, has announced its vision for using Generative AI to build human-like bots for enterprises. The announcement comes as the company launches four beta features that are going to be powered by the latest Generative AI technology. With this, Haptik claims to have become the first company in the industry capable of increasing revenue through human-like shopping experiences by combining the capabilities of its beta features along with Generative AI. These apps include both messaging and social networking apps like WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and more.
“Humanising bots with AI”
Speaking on the launch of beta features, Haptik Co-founder and CTO Swapan Rajdev said, “I’m stoked by the potential business opportunity Generative AI brings for enterprises. At Haptik, we have already been using GPT 2 and GPT 3 to augment the bot training data for higher accuracy. ChatGPT uses GPT-3.5 and is a whole different ball game altogether. I’m glad to announce our four upcoming beta launches that can humanise your bot, engaging in free-flowing conversations with your customers without hours of manual training and effort.”
The technology allows enterprises to recreate physical shopping experiences where customers check for product availability, are provided buying guidance and led to complete the purchase within the messaging channels they use.
The emergence of GPT-3.5 allows Haptik to improve bot performance by 15% while training efforts can be reduced by up to 40% and an improvement of 20% with customer satisfaction. Haptik said that its new beta features will be made available to all its customers and will be deployed across the platform.

If you’re thinking about switching mobile networks, it might be time to give Verizon a second look. As the largest carrier in the US, Verizon not only has a lot of coverage to ensure you get the service you pay for, but it also has a lot of ways it can offer extra value to its subscribers. Here’s a quick look at just a few ways you can get more out of a Verizon subscription, including a special new plan available to switchers for a limited time.

You don’t need to pay for a new phone