In just over two years operation, realme, the fastest growing smartphone brand in the world, has crossed sales figures of 50 million. For four consecutive quarters up to the third quarter of 2020, the brand has ranked seventh in terms of global smartphone shipment numbers.

realme was founded at a time when the global smartphone market was reaching a point of saturation, with existing players competing for a chunk of the market. In fact, at the time realme was founded back in 2018, Chinese smartphones saw a drop in sales by 10.5% year-on-year. Sky Li, realme founder and a seasoned expert in the tech and smartphone arena, was not unfamiliar with the situation. The visionary Li had an idea – while all the established players are competing for the existing market, what was a key segment that still remained untapped? The simple yet overlooked answer was – the youth.

Young people, curious by nature, are more receptive of new ideas, and are often first-adopters of anything new. From his own extensive experience and close observations, Li realized the immense potential in the youth-oriented smartphone segment. Sky Li had been witnessing the overseas market for many years. While the youth demand proper functionality and aesthetics, they also seek them within a price range that is accessible to them. They also like attention. From the very start, realme was aware of this and acted upon this awareness. The brand’s current “Dare to Leap” slogan aptly captures the youth’s indomitable spirit.

In less than six months of commencing operations, realme had penetrated into ten major global markets including Indonesia, Malaysia, and India. The quick success not only resulted in a keen focus on its target segment, but also hard and efficient work. An example of the success is the selling of 2 million units at a time in an online sales even during Diwali in India.

An increasing number of countries across the world is gradually transitioning or about to transition to the era of 5G technology. Recognizing this inevitable transition, realme focused on its products being compatible with 5G technology. While its products in the home market of China comes with 5G compatibility, its products in other markets slowly taking baby steps towards that technology will also be capable as soon as the technology is in the horizon.

A major reason for realme’s success is its careful consideration of customer feedback. The company monitors and collects information on user feedback from social media, and communicates directly with users to enhance user engagement experience. The feedback is accommodated into the design and functionality of new products. Thus, the brand’s customers are not simply users, but also co-creators of realme’s products.

realme greatly focuses on its human resource. The creativity of the company’s young and energetic team has been reflected in the sales figures of the brand, which reached 20 million in a little over a year and crossed 50 million in around two years, which is a remarkable feat by any measure. In fact, some members of realme’s passionate workforce are former loyal users who joined the company after graduation, first as interns and then as permanent employees. Moreover, the company’s communication culture is direct. Any employee willing to share an idea have direct access to the CEO.

Moving forward, realme seeks to continue catering to the ever-evolving tastes of the youth, and continue its meteoric rise in the global smartphone and other tech consumer device arena. Given its rise into global prominence only within a couple of years of operation, it is safe to assume that anything is possible going forward.

Source: https://www.counterpointresearch.com/young-brand-realme-grew-132-qoq-q3-2020-becoming-worlds-fastest-brand-hit-50-million-shipments-since-inception/

This year was really challenging for all brands due to the coronavirus pandemic. To overcome the crisis, smartphone manufacturers formulated forward-looking strategies from the beginning of the pandemic.

Surprisingly, demand for smartphones increased this year but at the same time living standards and purchasing capabilities of the buyers decreased. So, smartphone manufacturers were keeping eyes on purchasing capabilities of customers and also paid attention to ensure the quality of the products.

In this context, some flagship smartphones - those that have the best specifications and features of a series under a particular brand - were launched this year in Bangladesh. Their price range also matches that billing. 

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra: Samsung launched Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra with 12GB RAM and 128GB ROM in the market in July of this year. The phone is equipped with 108MP primary camera. Moreover, the phone is backed with 5000mAh powerful battery. It is priced at BDT 29,999

Vivo V20: Vivo brought out their latest and unique flagship smartphone in October this year. The model of this flagship is Vivo V20. It is the most affordable in price among the flagship smartphones of all brands. Vivo V20 is a very stylish device in design with sleekness and lightweight. It is priced at BDT 32,990. The camera centric smartphone has already become extremely popular in the country's market. Vivo V20 has a 44MP eye autofocus selfie camera. Moreover, the dual video camera of the phone already has grabbed the attention of users. This smartphone is designed with 8GB RAM and 128 GB ROM.

Apple iPhone 11 Pro MAX:  The Apple iPhone 11 Pro MAX with 4GB RAM and 64GB ROM is priced at BDT 139999. The phone has 12MP triple cameras which is water and dust proofed.  

Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro: Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro is operated with 8GB RAM and 256GB ROM and it is available at BDT 94500. The phone has an outstanding 108MP primary camera. Mi 10 Pro is powered with 4500mAh battery. 

OnePlus 8 Pro: OnePlus released their flagship smartphone which is traded as OnePlus 8 Pro. OnePlus 8 Pro is designed with four rear cameras with a 16MP selfie camera. The device has the capacity of being 50 percent charged within 23 minutes. The phone is equipped with 8GB RAM and 128GB ROM which is backed by a 4300mAh battery. The price of the phone is BDT 94,990.

Oppo Find X2: Oppo Find X2 is available in the country's market from March of this year. The phone is designed with 12GB RAM and 256GB ROM. The phone is powered with a battery of 4200mAh with 65-watt fast charging technology. The phone is priced at BDT 115000.

Read Also: Top Upcoming Phones in December 2020

On the 95th birth anniversary of eminent Bengali playwright, linguist, educationist, political activists and literary critic Munier Chowdhury, search engine giant Google is honouring him with a Doodle on its homepage.
 
Doodles are changes made to the Google logo to celebrate holidays, anniversaries, and the lives of famous artists, pioneers, and scientists.
 
The day is being observed in a befitting manner by different organisations. Theatre, a leading theatre troupe in Bangladesh, is conferring the annual Munier Chowdhury Memorial Award and Mohammad Zakaria Memorial Award marking the birth anniversary of Munier Chowdhury.
 
Legendary thespian Sara Zaker has been nominated for this year's Munier Chowdhury Memorial Award, while Dinajpur-based playwright-director Sambit Saha is receiving the Mohammad Zakaria Memorial Award.
 
Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the awards ceremony will take place at a later date, Theatre informed the media.
 
Since 1989, the Munier Chowdhury Memorial Award has honoured many prominent cultural personalities including Dr Selim Al Deen, Abdullah Al Mamun, Syed Shamsul Haq, Mamunur Rashid, Aly Zaker, Asaduzzaman Noor, Nasiruddin Yousuff and more.
 

Munier Chowdhury was born on November 27, 1925 in Manikganj. He spent his childhood in Manikganj, Pirojpur, and different parts of East Bengal, due to his father's job.
 
After his family moved to Dhaka permanently in 1936, he completed his SSC from Dhaka Collegiate School in 1941 and went to Aligarh Muslim University. He came back and studied English literature for his bachelor’s degree (with distinction) in 1946 and Master’s in 1947 at Dhaka University.
 
At that time of political unrest due to the Bengali Language Movement, he got arrested for protesting against police brutality and the killing of students.
 
He was jailed for two years for his support in the Language Movement, and while in prison, he showed up at the Master’s examination in Bengali literature in 1954 and stood first in the first class. In 1958, he acquired his third Master’s degree in linguistics from Harvard University.
 
In 1947, Choudhury began his career in teaching at Brajalal College in Khulna. He moved to Jagannath College in Dhaka in 1950. He then joined Dhaka University in 1950 and taught both in the departments of English and Bengali. He was later promoted as a professor in 1970 and the dean of the faculty of arts in 1971.
 
During his imprisonment in 1952-54, Munier Chowdhury wrote his symbolic drama on the historic Language Movement, Kobor (The Grave). He then went on writing some of his iconic works including Roktakto Prantor (1959), Chithi (1966) and Polashi Barrack O Onyanno (1969).
 
In 1965, Choudhury redesigned the keyboard of the Bangla typewriter, named Munier Optima Keyboard as a team with Remington typewriters of the then East Germany.
 
In 1967, Munier Chowdhury protested against the Pakistan government’s prohibition on Tagore songs on radio and TV. He effectively took an interest in the non-cooperation movement during the early part of 1971 and rejected his award Sitara-e-Imtiaz, awarded by the Government of Pakistan in 1966.
 
Munier Chowdhury died on December 14, 1971 at the age of 46 in Dhaka as one of the victims of the brutal assassination of the intellectual martyrs, just two days before the country achieved.
 
He was posthumously given the Independence Day Award, the country’s highest state honour in 1980.
 
Central Road, the road in Dhaka where he lived, was renamed Shaheed Munier Chowdhury Road.
 
In 1991, on the 20th anniversary of Bangladesh’s independence, the government provided a commemorative stamp honouring Munier Chowdhury.
 

Read Also: Google doodle celebrates Dr Zohra Kazi’s I08th birthday

The gaming industry has grown hand in hand with the technological advancements of the world and has become a more accepted pastime than ever before. With a plethora of consoles and games to choose from, gamers have enough choices to find their own way to satisfy their desire for active immersion. Handheld gaming devices specifically have been around since the 90s and First Person Shooters (FPS) are equally as old. But when putting the two together, we have ourselves a unique blend that hasn’t been explored much until recently. More so when your mobile phone can hold its own as a viable gaming platform these days. But how well does FPS fair against other platforms and is it really worth it?

We’ve seen MOBAs, RPGs and even fighting games make it to the mobile platform by customising their interface to suit the phone’s specs and each genre has had a mainstay or two that became instant hits - FPS however, is another beast altogether. First of all, monumental classics like Call Of Duty, Halo and Doom have set the standard of quality FPS games and they began with barebones mechanics from the 90s and early 2000s. It was revolutionary at a time, but the genre has evolved so much since. The aforementioned titles are still pumping out games till today and have had no choice to improve and introduce new mechanics to stay relevant with the market. 

With games being stripped down considerably to complement mobile spec, some could argue that it’s too much of a compromise for the slightly more hardcore audience. Frame rate, ping and hit registration are integral components that make FPS one of the top genres today, and many mobile games miss the mark on this. Even with perfect internet, lag is inevitable on any platform, but mobile devices have possibly faced this the worst without many solutions. Server sizes depend on the specific title, but usually face issues of overcrowding and bug clutter. 

A strong case to support this is that both consoles and certain PCs were designed for gaming: with the average consumer spoilt for choices, compared to mobile devices that strive to share the same purpose. With this, comes hardware issues that fans this flame. Even though all platforms have the potential to overheat, the mobile phone does not have a reliable cooling system to help it cope with ceaseless hours of activity. This overheating problem becomes even more taxing when living off battery support too. Given, gaming laptops suffer the same fate but the gaming models were built for the purpose of handling intensive applications that games naturally are.

On a more technical standpoint, PCs dominate in this genre; having a far larger settings option that allows players to customize their sensitivity, have access to the largest keybind options and much much more. With the more flexible “WASD” movement and the most flexible methods of precise crosshair placement; it is clear that this platform is the most competitive for players out there. Console players have a competitive scene too, but usually houses more casual players in their servers. This is where we start finding common ground between consoles and mobile. Eight-directional movement is a common similarity between both platforms and tends to use the thumb for aiming too. This means that the likes of tracking and technique for lining up your shots are more similar than not. The mobile phone may not match the feel of an actual controller, but there are undoubtedly some transitional traits. 

The mobile platform’s distinctive strength lies in its portability. When gathering with friends, travelling or even arriving at your next destination too early - this will give you an immediate gaming experience that requires minimal updates and swift start up. The platform also leans more towards free to pay interactions with a loot system, but PC games like Valorant and Counterstrike still pose a threat. 

Even if the mobile platform is beaten in pretty much every way from a technical standpoint, its ability to be played anywhere while having a similar control scheme to consoles makes it an actual contender. Verdict: If you are a casual gamer who doesn’t live by the meta, this is going to be a fine pick. But if you want to genuinely level up and play on the most competitive level, mobile should be the last platform on your list. 

China launched an ambitious mission on Tuesday to bring back rocks and debris from the moon’s surface for the first time in more than 40 years — an undertaking that could boost human understanding of the moon and of the solar system more generally.

Chang’e 5 — named for the Chinese moon goddess — is the country’s boldest lunar mission yet. If successful, it would be a major advance for China’s space program, and some experts say it could pave the way for bringing samples back from Mars or even a crewed lunar mission.

The four modules of the Chang’e 5 spacecraft blasted off at just after 4:30 a.m. Tuesday (2030 GMT Monday, 3:30 p.m. EST Monday) atop a massive Long March-5Y rocket from the Wenchang launch center along the coast of the southern island province of Hainan.

Minutes after liftoff, the spacecraft separated from the rocket’s first and second stages and slipped into Earth-moon transfer orbit. About an hour later, Chang’e 5 opened its solar panels to provide its independent power source.

Spacecraft typically take three days to reach the moon.

The launch was carried live by national broadcaster CCTV which then switched to computer animation to show its progress into outer space.

The mission’s key task is to drill 2 meters (almost 7 feet) beneath the moon’s surface and scoop up about 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) of rocks and other debris to be brought back to Earth, according to NASA. That would offer the first opportunity for scientists to study newly obtained lunar material since the American and Russian missions of the 1960s and 1970s.

The Chang’e 5 lander’s time on the moon is scheduled to be short and sweet. It can only stay one lunar daytime, or about 14 Earth days, because it lacks the radioisotope heating units to withstand the moon’s freezing nights.

The lander will dig for materials with its drill and robotic arm and transfer them to what’s called an ascender, which will lift off from the moon and dock with the service capsule. The materials will then be moved to the return capsule to be hauled back to Earth.

The technical complexity of Chang’e 5, with its four components, makes it “remarkable in many ways,” said Joan Johnson-Freese, a space expert at the U.S. Naval War College.

“China is showing itself capable of developing and successfully carrying out sustained high-tech programs, important for regional influence and potentially global partnerships,” she said.

In particular, the ability to collect samples from space is growing in value, said Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Other countries planning to retrieve material from asteroids or even Mars may look to China’s experience, he said.

While the mission is “indeed challenging,” McDowell said China has already landed twice on the moon with its Chang’e 3 and Chang’e 4 missions, and showed with a 2014 Chang’e 5 test mission that it can navigate back to Earth, re-enter and land a capsule. All that’s left is to show it can collect samples and take off again from the moon.

“As a result of this, I’m pretty optimistic that China can pull this off,” he said.

The mission is among China’s boldest since it first put a man in space in 2003, becoming only the third nation to do so after the U.S. and Russia.

Chang’e 5 and future lunar missions aim to “provide better technical support for future scientific and exploration activities,” Pei Zhaoyu, mission spokesperson and deputy director of the Chinese National Space Administration’s Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center told reporters at a Monday briefing.

“Scientific needs and technical and economic conditions” would determine whether China decides to send a crewed mission to the moon, said Pei, whose comments were embargoed until after the launch. “I think future exploration activities on the moon are most likely to be carried out in a human-machine combination.”

While many of China’s crewed spaceflight achievements, including building an experimental space station and conducting a spacewalk, reproduce those of other countries from years past, the CNSA is now moving into new territory.

Chang’e 4 — which made the first soft landing on the moon’s relatively unexplored far side almost two years ago — is currently collecting full measurements of radiation exposure from the lunar surface, information vital for any country that plans to send astronauts to the moon.

China in July became one of three countries to have launched a mission to Mars, in China’s case an orbiter and a rover that will search for signs of water on the red planet. The CNSA says the spacecraft Tianwen 1 is on course to arrive at Mars around February.

China has increasingly engaged with foreign countries on missions, and the European Space Agency will be providing important ground station information for Chang’e 5.

U.S. law, however, still prevents most collaborations with NASA, excluding China from partnering with the International Space Station. That has prompted China to start work on its own space station and launch its own programs that have put it in a steady competition with Japan and India, among Asian nations seeking to notch new achievements in space.

China’s space program has progressed cautiously, with relatively few setbacks in recent years. The rocket being used for the current launch failed on a previous launch attempt, but has since performed without a glitch, including launching Chang’e 4.

“China works very incrementally, developing building blocks for long-term use for a variety of missions,” Freese-Johnson said. China’s one-party authoritarian system also allows for “prolonged political will that is often difficult in democracies,” she said.

While the U.S. has followed China’s successes closely, it’s unlikely to expand cooperation with China in space amid political suspicions, a sharpening military rivalry and accusations of Chinese theft of technology, experts say.

“A change in U.S. policy regarding space cooperation is unlikely to get much government attention in the near future,” Johnson-Freese said.

Read Also: SpaceX capsule with 4 astronauts reaches space station