tech-news
Vivo expands online, in-store services
Global smartphone brand Vivo has expanded the reach of its online and in-store services in Bangladesh to enhance customer experience.
Following the Benfen philosophy, the brand has been expanding its services in Bangladesh since its inception more than three and a half years ago.
Read realme launches 3 new service centers within 1 month
"We believe in supporting customers at every step of their smartphone journey, with a strong focus on after-sales service," Reasat Ahmed, assistant manager of vivo Bangladesh, said.
Vivo now has 20 active service centres, two exclusive stores in Dhaka and the rest across Bangladesh, including Narayangonj, Savar, Gazipur, Tangail, Mymensingh, Jamalpur, Kishoreganj, Sylhet, Bogura, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Jashore, Khulna, Barishal, Patuakhali, Noakhali, Cumilla, Chattogram, and Cox's Bazar.
Read: Vivo to launch Y21 with Tk10 lakh campaign
Also, vivo services can be accessed easily through on-call support, Facebook, and email. Customers get a response to their email queries within 24 hours, according to a media statement.
5G: Oppo teams up with Ericson to launch updated communication lab
Chinese consumer electronics and mobile communications company Oppo recently upgraded its communication lab in partnership with Ericsson.
Through the newly-upgraded Communication Lab, Oppo will now be able to fully realise the entire 5G research and development process, from the underlying RF front-end to software protocol updates and regional tuning and testing, according to a media statement.
The advanced communication lab contains three major modules: radiofrequency lab, protocol lab and network simulation lab. The network simulation lab is a collaboration between Oppo and Ericsson; the protocol lab is jointly established by Oppo and leading testing technology provider Keysight.
Read: Planning to launch 5G by end of this year: Joy
Chris Shu, vice-president and general manager of the product strategy planning and cooperation centre of Oppo, said: "The upgraded Communication Lab represents a new level of close cooperation with leading global technology companies. With the rapid evolution of global 5G technology, we are pleased to join hands with Ericsson and Keysight to leverage our experience in 5G standards, products and applications to enhance the 5G ecosystem worldwide."
Egnus Ewerbring, vice-president and CTO Asia-Pacific Ericsson, said: "Furthering the Oppo and Ericsson collaboration will bring forward more technology and products to lead 5G market demand and direction, as well as optimise 5G network experience for the end-user."
Read: Huawei, partners release 5G White Paper
Cao Peng, vice-president and general manager for Keysight's wireless test group, said: "Reliability testing is mandatory before launching the competitive commercial products into the market. The protocol lab and RF lab is a critical milestone for Keysight and Oppo on 5G."
5G to be rolled out through Teletalk by December: Jabbar
State-owned telecom operator Teletalk will roll out fifth-generation (5G) technology for broadband cellular networks by December, with other operators following in 2022, Posts and Telecommunication Minister Mustafa Jabbar said Saturday.
"The technology of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) would be 5G. We have already tested 5G through Huawei and Robi, which has boosted our confidence," the minister said.
Read 5G: Oppo teams up with Ericson to launch updated communication lab
He was speaking at the webinar "5G Ecosystem in Bangladesh and Upcoming Technologies" organised by the Telecom Reporters' Network Bangladesh (TRNB).
Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) Chairman Shyam Sunder Sikder said the process of launching 5G in Dhaka city by this year is at the final stage. "Teletalk has started making preparations for the launch. Work related to the formulation of a broadband policy is also underway."
Read: Planning to launch 5G by end of this year: Joy
Vivo Y21 Tk10 lakh prize campaign continues
Global technology brand Vivo recently upgraded its affordable smartphone range with the launch of the new Y21 smartphone in Bangladesh.
Vivo is also offering attractive prizes for early buyers, including a Tk10 lakh prize for one lucky winner.
Read: Vivo to launch Y21 with Tk10 lakh campaign
The winner will be selected from among the customers who either purchased the smartphone by pre-booking from September 16 to 20 or will buy it within the first week of its release by September 27.
The brand is also offering other prizes, including Tk2,100 cash-back and gift boxes.
Read Vivo expands online, in-store services
Reasat Ahmed, assistant manager of vivo Bangladesh, said, "The Y series caters to the ever-evolving customer needs of Bangladesh. With its sleek design and 8.0mm super slim body, Y21 is one of the best smartphones in the budget-friendly segment."
Y21 comes with an impressive 5000mAh battery along with an 18W Fast Charge and a Type-C charging port. It supports 10 hours of online gaming on a full charge and 15 hours of video viewing.
Read: Vivo brings new imaging chip V1
Running on MediaTek Helio P35 processor, the phone is equipped with 4GB + 1GB 2nd Generation Extended RAM, which enables it to run more apps with ease.
Available in Metallic Blue and Diamond Glow colours, the phone is retailing for Tk14,990, according to a media statement.
Read 5G: Oppo teams up with Ericson to launch updated communication lab
Robi brings cloud-based data storage service 'My Drive'
Robi has brought the first telecom-based consumer cloud service, "My Drive," in the country.
The cloud-based drive aims to solve people's data storage limitation problem on their smartphones.
My Drive is a personal cloud solution that enables customers to backup and organise their data – photos, videos, music, documents, call logs and SMSes.
Read Mahtab stands down after 5 years as Robi managing director, CEO
Customers will also be able to connect to their Facebook or Instagram accounts and sync photos to My Drive from Facebook or Instagram.
Local consumers often fail to buy space in international drive solutions for not having access to credit cards.
Using Robi's airtime balance, consumers can conveniently buy data storage space in My Drive.
Read: Robi customers can now use Upay app without internet charge
Robi and Airtel customers will receive 7GB storage in My Drive free for one month as a launching offer.
Robi customers can enjoy 20GB of data storage for 30 days in My Drive by purchasing a 5GB data pack at Tk307.
Read: Robi’s digital employee healthcare platform becomes role-model for Axiata
Similarly, customers can avail of 50GB and 100GB data storage by purchasing 10GB and 20GB data packs at Tk437 and Tk557.
Robi brings this personal cloud storage solution in partnership with JhoroTEK, a value-added service provider; Funambol Inc, a leading personal cloud storage platform provider and Simple Technology Solutions and Traders, according to a media statement.
Read Robi offers Tk1 lakh life insurance coverage on specific bundle packs
'Boosting electronics, hi-tech industry the need of the day'
Boosting the domestic electronics and hi-tech industry is highly required for achieving the government's vision of turning Bangladesh into a developed country by 2041, said Walton Hi-Tech Industries Managing Director Golam Murshed at an international summit in Switzerland.
Murshed, also the chief executive officer of Walton Hi-Tech, called for improvement in research and innovation for boosting the country's electronics and hi-tech product manufacturing industries.
He made the remarks while addressing the concluding session of the first phase of a roadshow titled "Investor summit: Bangladesh capital markets" held in Switzerland's Zurich recently.
Read: 'Walton ahead of others in protecting ozone layer'
To facilitate and encourage the non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) to invest in the country's capital market, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) initiated the two-phases roadshow "The Rise of Bengal Tiger: Potentials of Trade and Investment in Bangladesh."
Murshed said: "Bangladesh is now showing successes in several fields including GDP growth, poverty alleviation, and improvement of living standards; increase in education rate, empowerment of women, foreign exchange supply, stable capital market, political stability; infrastructure and policy development."
"Using the government's industry-friendly duty and policy support, Walton has become Bangladesh's electronics giant. Beyond the country's boundaries, Walton products are being exported to around 40 countries."
Read: Walton sets $100 million export target for FY22
The investor summit has been attended by high-level delegates from Bangladesh and Switzerland, along with business conglomerates and investors.
Also, the NRBs, foreign investors and institutional investors in Switzerland joined the summit.
Earlier, the roadshows were also held in four cities in the US and UAE this year. Walton is one of the partners of the US and Switzerland roadshows. The upcoming roadshows, led by the BSEC, will be held in Russia and the UK.
Read Huawei BUET ICT Academy to develop talent ecosystem
realme launches 3 new service centers within 1 month
Smartphone brand realm has recently opened 3 new service centers in Mymensingh, Jashore and Khulna within a month’s difference.
With the opening of these new branches, realme now has around 22 service centers and more than 300 brand shops across the country.
Read realme to expandi ecosystem,introduce first phone from Flagship series in Bangladesh
The service center in Mymensingh is located at 01, CK Ghosh Road (Opposite side of Press Club), Jashore’s one at Level- 03, Accenture Gazi Purbachal Tower, R.N Road and Khulna service center at Level: 02, Madhumati Bank Building, Islam Traders, Sheikh Para, 18 KDA Avenue, Tatul Tola Mor.
Except Fridays, realme customers can avail of any service from Mymensingh Service Center from 10am-7pm (lunch break from 1-2pm), Khulna Service Center from 9:30am-6:30pm (lunch break from 1-2pm) and Jashore Service Center from 10am-7pm (lunch break from 1-2pm).
Read realme becomes top selling brand in Daraz 7th Anniversary Sale
Opening 3 new service centers within a timeframe of one month, speaks of realme’s determination to serve their customers in the best way.
Tim Shao, Managing Director of realme Bangladesh, said, “At realme, our customers and fans always remain at the top of our priority list.Our new service centers are just continuation of those initiatives intended to improve customer experience.”
Read Realme sells 1.6 million smartphones at Fan Fest
realme hopes to launch many more service centers in future to reach more customers even outside the capital with their services, said the official.
Oppo launches 'Guess the story' campaign
Global smart device brand Oppo has launched the "Trustworthy Guess the Story" campaign where the participants will get a chance to be rewarded by completing a half-narrated story.
The stories will portray different imaginary situations, "narrating trustworthy services Oppo provides to its customers."
Read Boost in electronics, hi-tech industry required for a developed BD: Walton MD
Oppo will share half of the story in a video and will post on its official Facebook page and will let the audience guess the next story.
The winners will get Oppo Enco W11. The activity will continue from September 20-27, according to a media statement.
Read realme launches 3 new service centers within 1 month
Enco W11 is a pair of wireless headphones with binaural simultaneous Bluetooth transmission, enhanced bass, 20-hour battery life and dust and water resistance features. Music lovers can enjoy unlimited music with superb audio quality because of its 8mm dynamic drivers with titanium-plated composite diaphragms.
Is the top 1 smartphone brand getting ignored – Which brand is that?
Youth-centric smartphone brand realme began its journey in Bangladesh in February 2020, and within only five quarters, the company has turned out to be the number 1 brand in the Bangladesh market on many fronts.
According to the leading global technology market analyst firm Canalys, realme has taken the top spot among smartphone makers in Bangladesh in Q2, 2021, with an annual growth of 258% in the Bangladesh smartphone market.
Read: realme to expandi ecosystem,introduce first phone from Flagship series in Bangladesh
In addition to that, realme has recently become the top-selling brand in the Daraz 7th Anniversary Sale.
Smartphones will continue to play a key role in democratizing technology, especially in Bangladesh, where thousands of aspirational and tech-savvy young buyers are igniting new trends. So, when realme provided the opportunity to buy selective realme smartphones from Daraz availing of anniversary offers, smartphone fans went on the shopping spree, and a record number of realme phones were sold at the campaign.
Nowadays, not everyone, especially the youth, can afford high-end smartphones with industry features. realme’s entry into the market has been a blessing in disguise for the the youth. The company, propelled by the youngsters, uniquely understands its target market and shares the same attitude.
Read: realme becomes top selling brand in Daraz 7th Anniversary Sale
realme’s unique personality has led to another acquirement of having the highest engagement among all brands on their Facebook page, according to socialbakers report. The report revealed that realme had experienced absolute growth of its fans on social media networking sites with 169.15% relative growth, which is much higher than other brands.
Moreover, when it comes to average interactions per post, realme is well ahead of others, with a rate of 9,064.37 interactions per post. With an engaged audience and absolute growth of fans, realme is set to add more feathers in their cap in the foreseeable future.
Read Boost in electronics, hi-tech industry required for a developed BD: Walton MD
Google Alphabet’s Project Taara: Light beam broadband internet creates new hope in Africa
The triumph of the internet is all around today. Nowadays, people can do almost everything from sitting at home, such as shopping to getting married! In a word, if there is the internet, everything is in one's hands. In this era of speedy internet and communication technology, there are still some places in the world where the internet is far away, and even the mobile signals do not reach properly. However, it is not like those places are deprived, or no one gives attention to them. The places that don't have internet are mainly due to geographical location or natural reasons. Some villages in Congo, Africa, are such remote locations. But this time, Google's new project named 'Project Taara' is working on providing high-speed internet to those remote villages.
Read: Mobile internet speed increases only by 15 percent in Bangladesh, one-fourth of global average
What is Project Taara?
According to Project X, Google's own company, the technology will actually transmit the internet at very high and invisible super high-speed laser-based system light. The subject is a lot like optical fiber, but in this case, no cable or wire will be used.
This innovative approach to Internet connection was implemented under Alphabet X's 'Project Taara.' Alphabet X is a research and innovation company under Alphabet Inc., the parent company of search giant Google. The company works with a variety of innovative technologies, in many cases with strict confidentiality.
Read: Virtual RAM: Types, Advantages, Disadvantages of Virtual Memory
It has already successfully set up a laser-based system to supply the internet across the Congo River at 20 GBPS speed, which can cover distances of up to 20 kilometers.
When did Project Taara start?
Project Taara has been working for three years since 2017. Alphabet X is partnering with Econet Group and Liquid Telecom to launch high-speed Internet services in sub-Saharan Africa and has even begun commercial marketing in Kenya.
How does Taara service work?
This technology usually sends a signal to the receiver via radio wave from a server with a transmitter mounted on a tall building or a tower. The company claims that currently, people are able to access the internet at speeds of up to 1 Gbps only. But the new technology will allow users to access the Internet at speeds of up to 20 GBPS.
Read: AI critical enabler of energy transition: WEF
While the current broadband fiber-optics service transmits information on pulses of light, the Taara will transmit the data in a special form of twisted light. The regular fiber-optics' encoding and processing system affect the data speed. But the twisted light forms the missing key and helps in unlocking the super-fast communication.
The advanced Taara communication system not only carries more data; but also processes it faster through the light beams. Nevertheless, the internet speed can be as much as 100 times faster than the current system broadband system.
Has this been tested?
Google's technology has already been tested in remote areas of India and Africa. This new technology will greatly reduce the difficulties of providing internet service in the towers, and tall buildings.
Read 5G Smartphone: What are the benefits of 5G? Who needs a 5G Phone?
Besides these, by virtue of the new technology internet access can be assured in jungles, rivers, railway tracks, and several other remote areas. In simple words, the advanced technology is expected to be very effective in places where it is virtually impossible to deliver optical fiber.
The technology has already been successfully tested in Andhra Pradesh, India, and villages across the Congo River, Africa. And it has yielded promising results in each case.
Previously Google took another step named “Project Loon” to provide internet service through the balloon, which did not make the cut. Google's Taara, on the other hand, seems very promising as it transmitted 700 TB data over a 20-day period test in Congo. Furthermore, the light beam technology had 99.9 percent during the testing period.
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On the user's side, there was no hint when the data passed through FCOS nodes or the wires. Further, Google wanted to make the experience indistinguishable, and seemingly they are successful. According to Google, the system is placed high up, and it can adjust itself up to five degrees to uphold a perfect connection. The test also shows that the laser system was up even in the face of unexpected obstacles, such as extreme weather, flocks of flying birds, etc.
The latest test removed the pretty stubborn connection gap between the Republic of Congo city of Brazzaville and the Democratic Republic of Congo city of Kinshasa. Although the names are almost the same, the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are two different countries. The two countries gained independence from the European colonial occupation in 1960 at about the same time.
Read Internet Safety Tips for Children, Teens, and Adults
The distance between Brazzaville and Kinshasa was five kilometers only. But, it was complicated and expensive to connect the two cities with fiber cable in a conventional way due to the river flowing between them.
The cost of broadband connectivity has increased fivefold as the Internet has simply turned the tide. The problem is partially solved by Alphabet X's Lighting Internet connection or The Wireless Optical Communication (WOC) system. Therefore, the 17 million people living in those cities will be able to access the high-speed internet soon.
Challenges
The WOC system comes from 'free space optical communication' technology. The technology originated from Project Loon, a project to send data using lasers between multiple balloons floating in the atmosphere.
Read: Microsoft fixes cloud platform vulnerability after warning
However, Alphabet closed Project Loon in February 2021 due to a lack of commercial potential. Now they started Project Taara with the same concept. But this technology is not perfect yet. The system was up 99% during the taste. But, unwanted objects like fog, hostile weather, clouds, or birds flying through the light waves, can disrupt the WOC system.
However, the BBC reports that it is possible to deal with that complication by increasing the power of the laser transmission. The WOC system works much like a telescope; Mirrors, lighting, software, and hardware - these four combine to control the destination of light. The report says that the researchers have also found a way to avoid the disruption of the connection due to the birds flying through the middle. Alphabet X is also testing the technology in Kenya, India, Mexico, and the United States.
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