Category: Gadgets

Mobile trends in India include massive 1 billion users

| January 5, 2016

The country’s cell phone market has now broken through that tremendous milestone.

The latest data with regards to the mobile trends in India have now been released and have shown that from September to October 2015, there was a 0.7 percent increase in the ownership of cell phones, bringing that country over the billion user mark to reach 1.03 billion device users.

This fascinating insight was released very recently by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

Now that India has reached this milestone in its mobile trends, it has become the second country in the world to have achieved it (the first one having been China). The population of the country is about three times that of the United States and it has recently become a vital new market for smartphones and other mobile devices. Though there are only four major carriers for mobile service in the United States, India boasts a dozen that are all competing to obtain contract subscribers.

Due to the massive mobile trends for competition in the country, subscribers pay some of the lowest bills in the world.

Mobile Trends - A billion UsersA number of factors, including the tremendous competition in India for customers has made sure that Indian mobile device users are paying some of the lowest monthly charges on the planet. This massive and rapidly growing and evolving market has also presented opportunities to companies from other countries. Virtually every corner of the globe is looking at India’s market and is hoping to try to carve out their own segment of it for themselves.

Though the insight from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India includes all types of cell phone, another important mobile technology trend currently underway in the country is the adoption of smartphones. While the United States continues to be one of the top markets for the very high-end and flagship devices from manufacturers, Asia is a haven for entry-level and mid-range devices.

As people in India hop on the mobile trends for replacing basic cell phones and feature phones with smartphones, manufacturers have been scrambling to offer consumers across the country the type of deals and opportunities that will encourage them to choose them over the competition.

Wearable technology gets a shot in the arm from Penn Hills police

| January 4, 2016

New cameras in police cars in the municipality in Pennsylvania could bring wearables to officers.

Police cars in Penn Hills, Pennsylvania are now being outfitted with cameras, leading some to believe that this may be the first major step toward the use of wearable technology by officers in the area.

Penn Hills Police Chief Howard Burton has submitted a request for the funds necessary for 20 vehicle cameras.

This would provide in-car camera technology for 20 vehicles used by his officers. The request was made for the funding to be worked into the municipal budget for 2016. According to Burton, the estimated cost for the 20 cameras is around $144,000. Though the cars driven by police officers have already been outfitted with cameras, that technology is rapidly becoming outdated and Burton feels that the police and the people in Penn Hills would be better served if the tech was replaced by new ones compatible with wearable technology.

That said, while they would be wearable technology compatible, there are no immediate intentions for wearables.

Wearable Technology - PoliceFor example, Burton specifically pointed out that there aren’t any plans to outfit officers with wearables that would record audio or video. He explained that “I think this is the direction everyone is moving in.”

He also said that there are a range of issues that have yet to be ironed out by legislators when it comes to laws surrounding practices such as wiretapping and the length of time that wearable camera videos should be stored by police departments. Also being discussed are concerns regarding the affordability of storing recorded videos from wearables and the ways in which requests for those stored videos should be handled while the incident in question is still under investigation.

Pennsylvania laws do not contain any specific regulation against the use of cameras in wearable technology, but Harrisburg legislators are currently considering a bill that would create a wire tap law amendment that would then make it possible for police to record video while within homes, but would also be able to stop public access to whatever was recorded by that wearable equipment.