T3 India

Software

Review: BlueStacks 5 Android Emulator

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With a year under lockdown and work from home, you would have equipped yourselves with a decent laptop or a desktop. And if you are a gaming enthusiast, you might be lamenting the high cost of games for your device. The best solution would be an Android emulator that can be installed on your Windows or Mac. BlueStacks has unveiled the 5th iteration of their popular emulator that supports multi-instance feature along with other advanced features. Though this emulator is mostly used for gaming, it can also be used to install and run any Android app that is supported by up to Android Nougat. It supports both Windows and Mac OS.

The final rollout of this edition (GA) uses significantly less RAM and processing power. In fact, BlueStacks claims that the latest version uses up to 50 percent less RAM than the previous version. You can download BlueStacks 5 exe file from the BlueStacks website. Installation was quite smooth and took only a few minutes in our case. The software can run smoothly on a medium level PC with as low as 2GB RAM. However, we would recommend 8GB RAM, SSD and at least a mid-level graphics capability (onboard or discrete). We used both a dedicated gaming laptop and a Ryzen 5 laptop with Vega 8 graphics to try out the platform.

The emulator features Eco Mode that lets you reduce CPU usage by 87 percent and GPU usage by up to 97 percent. It also supports multi-instance, which allows you to create more than one instance of BlueStacks to play or access multiple apps. It supports gamepads and popular game controllers for a console-like experience. Macros can be recorded and played right from the sidebar. Smart Controls allow you to focus on the game without bothering too much with the controls. Game controls can be customised and keys mapped to touch points.

If you are using an Android emulator for the first time, you might find the controls somewhat difficult in the beginning, but only till you get used to it. We tried Call of Duty and Modern Warships along with racers like Asphalt 9, and the gameplay was quite smooth in every instance without any drop in fps observed. The sheer number of games to choose from the Play Store makes it worth the time and effort.

RATING

★★★★★

WE’RE IMPRESSED Smooth gameplay, Works on mid-level machines

WE’D IMPROVE Support for latest Android versions

THE LAST WORD If you are looking for an Android emulator that allows you to customise game controls and consumes less system resources, BlueStacks 5 certainly deserves a look. However, it supports only up to Android Nougat and this could make some later games incompatible.  

Indian Fitbit Sense users will be able to use the Fitbit ECG app, tentatively from November

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Earlier this week, Fitbit announced that their ECG app that helps to assess heart rhythm for atrial fibrillation (AFib) has received clearance from the FDA and CE for use in the United States and the European region respectively. This means that Fitbit Sense users in countries like the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Poland, Belgium, Portugal, Romania, Ireland, Italy, Spain, France and Hong Kong will be able to use the Fitbit ECG app.

Interestingly, India is also on the list, which means if you buy the Rs. 34,999 Fitbit device, you will be able to measure the electrical activity of the heart, read the heart rhythm quickly for atrial fibrillation (AFib). Fitbit expects it to work by November, coinciding with the launch of the device.

Fitbit Sense is Fitbit’s most advanced smartwatch yet that comes with the world’s first electrodermal activity (EDA) sensor that helps to track and manage stress and an on-wrist skin temperature sensor.

Bobble AI introduces a Marathi keyboard with their dedicated ‘Animated Bigmojis’

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Recognising the challenges faced by many across India, who converse primarily in their local languages, Bobble AI have announced the launch of a keyboard designed specifically for those who speak Marathi – making it easier to communicate and send messages during the extremely popular festival of Ganesh Chaturthi.

Dedicated to the 70-million-plus Marathi speaking community in India, the Marathi keyboard is also integrated with dedicated ‘Animated Bigmojis’, which enables users to send magnified emojis from the emoji panel by pressing on the emoji longer. Bobble AI also is the first to introduce this feature into keyboards and for the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi which starts in 2 days, they have also featured special emojis of Ganapati Bappa/Lord Ganesh.

When it comes to functionality, Bobble’s Marathi keyboard is one of the newest Marathi input tools out there for phones running on Android. Users are able to text in Marathi, either by typing in Marathi or through the keyboard’s impressive English to Marathi translator. More so, Bobble’s Marathi keyboard also has the unique capability of autocorrecting, which understands the user’s intent.

Bobble AI have also mentioned that, ‘there is automated word prediction on local phrases like tumcha svāgat aso, tu kasā āhes, su-prabhāt pūnhā bhetū,lavakar barē vhā! Abhinandana, among many others’.

To make life easier, Bobble’s Marathi keyboard has an incredible speech recognition software that can recognise the authentic Marathi accent and convert it into well-versed text messages, thus, allowing users the luxury of not typing at all.

The users can create their personalised cartoon avatar through the ‘Cartoon Head and with merely a selfie can access to 1000’s of stickers and GIFs.

“Bobble AI empowers millions of Indians to communicate in 100+ languages and expressive content. The company is actively creating more stickers, gifs, and memes for regional consumption, as a result, the adoption of regional languages has been taking place in every millisecond. The Marathi keyboard is introduced because there was a need for such medium, after all, there is nothing more authentic and persuasive than what one friend says to another”, says Ankit Prasad, Founder and CEO, Bobble AI.

Bobble AI’s Marathi keyboard is available for Android users and can be downloaded through this link.

For more information, please visit the Marathi keyboard’s dedicated web page or this page.

ViewSonic’s myViewBoard Classroom adapts to the ‘New Normal’ in the pandemic-hit education sector

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Amidst the pandemic and even in a post-pandemic world, different industries and sectors are now forcibly adapting to the ‘new normal’ and everything associated with it. People have adapted to virtual calls and meetings for work-related activities and it is no different in the education sector. With that in mind, ViewSonic have launched ‘myViewBoard Classroom’ that enables teachers and students adapt to the extraordinary circumstances as the idea of reopening schools still seems to be a few months away.

The myViewBoard Classroom is designed by prioritising the teacher as it comes with a complete digital whiteboard canvas enabling them to share it with the students. Teachers also get to control when students can speak, make comments and ask questions. There are engagement options for students as well, with a ‘Hand Raise’ push-to-talk feature and a student’s access to remote writing tools.

Through ViewSonic’s multi-functional tool, it’s also possible for the students and teachers to have independent breakout group discussions via virtual grouping. Each group can be assigned its own canvas to work on. The product video of the myViewBoard Classroom also shows how this is possible but it’s safe to assume that several students won’t receive the product, due to a plethora of reasons, and it’d mainly be in the hands of the teachers. Teachers can also access only a single location which has all the lesson content and the Google Classroom.

In a country like India, where high-speed internet is a privilege, it is very difficult for many students to access online lectures and this problem has also been prominent in the news nowadays. myViewBoard Classroom, however, has a ‘low-bandwidth’ feature too, which can potentially help students who don’t have high-speed internet connections at home. But it still remains to be seen on how effective this feature really is.

“We at ViewSonic decided to develop a hybrid teaching tool that provides teachers and students a virtual space to keep going during the pandemic and offers teachers the capabilities to continue teaching and inspiring their students to learn regardless of their location and the current situation. The education sector is one of the worst-hit sectors in this pandemic, and to ensure it doesn’t affect the education system, the best and only option is virtual/online learning,” said Mr. Eric Wei, Senior Sales Director Asia Pacific.

ViewSonic also mentioned that, “In a show of support for schools during the initial outbreak, ViewSonic provides myViewBoard free-of-cost to schools, colleges, and universities as of March 2020. After receiving positive feedback from schools and educators, ViewSonic decided to make myViewBoard Entity for education complimentary to all education institutions permanently”.

For more information of myViewBoard Classroom, please visit this page.

Byju’s launches Early Learn App for kids aged 4 and 5

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Byju’s has introduced an interactive learning app and a fun way of concept building for children aged 4 and 5 entering the formal education system. And to be fair, this was a timely update for kids in India. With no idea when schools would open up, parents can spend some time helping their kids learn during the lockdown.

The Early Learn app strives to work on the concept-building outlook of learning and helps teach Math and English to kids through interactive videos, sing-along rhymes, simple worksheets, and fun stories featuring Disney’s classic and modern characters from Mickey and Friends, Frozen, Cars, Jungle Book, and more.

The program has some important and helpful features like – an adaptive, personalised engine and a learning map that ‘depicts the most important information a child should learn next’, a computer-vision framework that allows offline and online interactions through ‘digital worksheets’. It also has a ‘parental reporting system’ that allows parents to track their child’s progress.

Vinay MR, Chief Content Officer, Byju’s said,“Our programs aimed at children in LKG and UKG are designed to give a strong head-start to the way children start their learning journey in India. Byju’s pedagogy, engaging videos and content expertise combined with Disney’s world-class storytelling are aimed at fueling curiosity and the love for learning in children from their formative years. We strongly believe that concept building from a young age plays a crucial role in the way a child approaches learning in the future.

The Byju’s Early Learn app is available on the Google Play Store for Android devices and is available on the App Store for Apple’s iOS devices.