Moto X4 to be launched today: Know specs, features & watch live unveiling

This IP68-certified water- and dust-resistant device was launched earlier at IFA 2017. The phone will go on sale exclusively on Flipkart

Motorola is going to launch the Moto X4 in India on Monday, November 13. The smartphone is one of the few devices that support Amazon Alexa voice assistant, and also has an in-built support for Google Assistant. This IP68-certified water- and dust-resistant device was launched earlier at IFA 2017 and would go on sale in India exclusively on Flipkart.

Moto X4 specifications

The Moto X4 sports a 5.2-inch full-HD IPS screen covered with Corning Gorilla Glass for protection against scratches and accidental drops. The phone is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 SoC, which is an octa-core processor ticking at 2.2 GHz, coupled with Adreno 508 graphic processor. The device boasts 32 GB internal storage, expandable up to 2TB using microSD card, and 3 GB RAM. The phone boots Android Nougat 7.1 out of the box.

Moto X4 features

The Moto X4 has a dual-camera set-up on the back, which uses a 12-megapixel shooter with f/2.0 aperture and an 8MP ultra-wide angle shooter with f/2.2 aperture. The cameras on the back are assisted with phase detection autofocus (PDAF) and dual LED flash.

On the front, the smartphone houses a 16 MP selfie camera with f/2.0 aperture. The selfie camera is supported with flash and comes with features like the beautification mode, pro mode, filters, panorama and adaptive low-light mode.

Moto X4 connectivity options

The Moto X4 offers all-round connectivity options, including near-field communication (NFC), Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 802.11ac (dual-band, 2.4GHz and 5GHz), GPS, GLONASS, 4G LTE, and FM radio. (more)

Claiming HRA to get harder as govt cracks down on fake house rent receipts

I-T department could now ask for supporting documents to prove that you are a genuine tenant

If you have been producing fake rent receipts to lessen your tax burden there is a bad news for you now.

You may no longer be able to claim income tax deductions for house rent allowance (HRA) by fabricating fake bills. The income tax department may now ask for proof from the tax payer showing that he is a genuine tenant.

According to a report in Economic Times, Dilip Lakhani, senior tax advisor, Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP said, "The ITAT (Income Tax Appellate Tribunal) ruling has now laid down the criteria for the assessing officer to consider the claim of a salaried employee and if necessary question its justification. This will put the onus on the salaried class to follow the rules in availing the tax rebate.”

ITAT Mumbai recently struck down the HRA exemption claim of a salaried individual for rent paid to her mother. This opens a pandora's box for all salaried people as now an IT officer can ask for proof such as leave and licence agreement, letter to the housing co-operative society informing about the tenancy, electricity bill, water bill and so on.

Till now, a salaried person receiving HRA could escape paying tax on 60% of the amount by submitting a rent receipt. Now, it may not be possible as the department could ask for supporting documents.

This Tribunal ruling comes a few months after the government's decision to cap the loss on property bought with borrowed money. According to this ruling a person producing fake rent receipt will be deemed as counterfeit and no required documents will be available with him. There may not be any genuine rent outflow from the person and in some circumstances even if the person is a genuine tenant, the amount mentioned in the receipt may be more than what's paid.

However, if you pay more than Rs 1 lakh annually towards house rent, then quoting landlord's PAN is mandatory for claiming tax benefit under House Rent Allowance.

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Moto G4 Plus: A mixed bag

Moto G4 Plus: A mixed bag



Motorola's newest offering, the Moto G4 Plus, comes with better specs than its predecessor but is that enough to grab one's attention? I wasn't convinced so I took it out for a spin.

The G4 Plus has a plastic back with metal edges, which for a mid-range smartphone feels rather cheap. The fashion conscious would rather go for a Redmi Note 3 or even the LeEco 1s. The phone, however, is comfortable to hold. It comes with a 5.5-inch full HD display with a resolution of 1,080x1,920 p. The colours are vibrant and sharp but could have been a tad better. It has the stock Motorola user interface and runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow.

Under the hood, it houses the Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 with 4GB of RAM. The G4 Plus can handle multitasking and RAM-heavy games. However, during one of my missions in Order and Chaos, I noticed a bit of lag. If you prefer games such as Candy Crush or Temple Run, you have nothing to worry about. But, if you like playing heavy games such as Order and Chaos, Injustice and Ashphalt, I'd recommend you choose a different phone.

The G4 Plus also comes with an astonishingly fast fingerprint sensor. Located just below the display, you might mistake the square-shaped sensor as the home button. Setting it up was easy and didn't take much time. Read more

New mobile phones.

Just like any other Chinese smartphone

The Chinese-manufactured Smartphone segment in India is a heavily crowded space with the likes of Xiaomi, LeEco, Oppo, Vivo and Gionee battling neck to neck to achieve the numero uno spot in terms of market share.

The latest International Data Corporation (IDC) report reveals a change, with Vivo and Oppo making it to the top five smartphone vendors for the first time, based on the number of units they shipped.

But for Gionee, the journey to the top is far from over. Its ambitious Gionee S6, priced at Rs 19,999, is pitted against the Oppo R7 Lite, but does it have what it takes to win the race? Let us find out.

Gionee, like any other Chinese model does not have a stand-out identity of its own like a Moto X Turbo edition or an Asus Zenfone as it has startling similarities to other Chinese models. Keeping that aside, it has done a pretty decent job with the unibody aluminium build and the rose gold colour adds to the phone's looks. It is comfortable to hold and the button placement enables you to use it with one hand easily.

The phone has been designed keeping in mind the aesthetic appeal of the present generation. In terms of hardware, the model weighs just 148 g and can easily slide into your pocket. It boasts of a 13-megapixel (MP) rear camera with LED flash and a 5MP front camera. A 5.5-inch 720p high-definition AMOLED display coupled with a Gorilla Glass 3 for protection is sure to give you a good movie watching experience.

The camera performance is impressive as pictures clicked in daylight show good clarity and colours. However, low-light shots aren't that great as certain amount of noise slithers into the picture, but overall quality is acceptable. A range of shooting features such as the professional mode, ultra-pixel mode and a barcode scanner adds on to the list of your options. The non-removable 3,150 mAh battery lasts for more than a day when put to real world usage.Read More.

See more Info about news Technology Smart Phones.

Now, an app for celebrities to connect with fans

If you are a fan of Virat Kohli, India's hottest cricketing star, you may soon be able to meet and greet him, chat with him online, receive exclusive pictures, videos or content from him or get discounts on select brands, like Wrogn and Chissel, which he endorses or part-owns.

This is provided you buy the Virat FanBox — a special edition MotoG Turbophone that comes with an in-built app for Rs 16,999, which includes the membership fees to the Virat fan club for 365 days.

Of course, the FanBox also comes with a mini-bat signed by Virat, a hand-written (printed) letter from Virat, and a unique membership number which is linked to the IMEI no of the phone — all in a well decorated box. The phone will also serve as a key to a lot of entry points, like the post-match fan booth the club would organise.

The FanBox has been developed by Privyplex, a start-up founded by two alumni of Insead Business School — Ahmed Arab, the CEO, and Upmanyu Misra (chairman of its board), who also heads Elyseum, a Dubai-based private equity firm which has invested $1.5 million in the firm.

“As a cricketer, I feel blessed with all the love and support I get from my fans. TheVirat FanBox is my personal endeavour to get closer to my fans than ever before; to connect and chat with them online and meet them in real life. I am excited and looking forward to engaging and interacting with the club members via the app,” Virat said in a statement.

"In India, celebrities enjoy a lot of following. FanBox is a high-degree engagement platform, which is unique. We are happy to partner with them," says Amit Boni, country head, Motorola. The potential is huge as Virat has 10.5 million followers on Twitter. While the start-up is shy of discussing targets, Boni will be disappointed if it doesn't do 1 million.

Typically, fans-celebrity interactions are one-way. Fans want to have access to celebrities, and celebrities want a better understanding of their fans. "We have created a platform which enables that between the celebrity and the fans," says Ahmed, CEO of Privyplex and a telecom engineer, who has worked with Microsoft, Nokia, Alcatel; co-founded a start-up in Singapore, which was sold to Rocket Internet.

Virat is the first celebrity the firm has signed up, but it’s also in talks with five others globally. These include a football player from South America, a basketball star from USA, a Formula 1 star from Europe, and entertainment and Bollywood stars from South Korea and India, respectively. What’s common is that they are among the most popular in their respective arenas. They all liked the idea and talks with them are currently at various stages; the FanBox will be customised for each.Read more about this article.

Motorola's newest instalment in the premium segment, the Moto X Force, boasts of a screen so strong that it just won't shatter no matter how much you drop it. A challenge, I gladly accepted.

At first glance, the Force seemed very chunky but to my surprise it was pretty lightweight. Motorola has not given beauty a preference as the phone looks quite ordinary. It has a 5.4-inch AMOLED screen with a resolution of 1,440 x 2,560p, which provides for sharp and vibrant colours. The display is akin to other premium smartphones.

Under the hood, it houses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor along with 3GB of RAM which is sufficient. Playing games on the Force was a breeze. Surprisingly, it didn't heat up much even when used at a stretch. It comes with a 3,760-mAh battery and it lasted me a good two days on heavy usage. The device runs Android 5.1.1 Lollipop but an upgrade to Marshmallow is likely in the foreseeable future.

At Rs 49,999, the Moto X Force delivers more than enough. Most people are very careful with their premium phones - one of my colleagues wraps her iPhone 6 in a soft pillow-like case. With the Force, one has the option to roughhouse the phone as much as they like.

The Force comes with a Moto app that registers gestures such as a twist to launch the camera. The camera app, however, is slow to load which is quite frustrating. It has a 21-megapixel (MP) primary camera which delivers good-quality images but only in conditions with good lighting. If you try to click a picture in low light, the resultant output is disappointing. The 5MP secondary camera is good enough for selfies.

The star of the show is the Force's screen. It has two touchscreen layers beneath the scratch-resistant layer. I was a bit apprehensive while undertaking drop tests. I feared the worst when I dropped it the first time.