Elon Musk Requests US Judge to End $258 Billion Dogecoin Lawsuit Against Him

Elon Musk asked a US judge on Friday to throw out a $258 billion (roughly Rs. 21,20,200 crore) racketeering lawsuit accusing him of running a pyramid scheme to support the cryptocurrency Dogecoin.

In an evening filing in Manhattan federal court, lawyers for Musk and his electric car company Tesla called the lawsuit by Dogecoin investors a "fanciful work of fiction" over Musk's "innocuous and often silly tweets" about Dogecoin.

The lawyers said the investors never explained how Musk intended to defraud anyone or what risks he concealed, and that his statements such as "Dogecoin Rulz" and "no highs, no lows, only Doge" were too vague to support a fraud claim.

"There is nothing unlawful about tweeting words of support for, or funny pictures about, a legitimate cryptocurrency that continues to hold a market cap of nearly $10 billion (roughly Rs. 82,200 crore)," Musk's lawyers said. "This court should put a stop to plaintiffs' fantasy and dismiss the complaint."

In a footnote, the lawyers also rejected the investors' claim that Dogecoin qualified as a security.

The investors' lawyer, Evan Spencer, said in an email: "We are more confident than ever that our case will be successful."

Investors accused Musk, the world's second-richest person according to Forbes, of deliberately driving up Dogecoin's price more than 36,000 percent over two years and then letting it crash.

They said this generated billions of dollars of profit at other Dogecoin investors' expense, even as Musk knew the currency lacked intrinsic value.

Investors also pointed to Musk's appearance on a "Weekend Update" segment of NBC's "Saturday Night Live" where, portraying a fictitious financial expert, he called Dogecoin "a hustle."

The $258 billion (roughly Rs. 21,20,200 crore) damages figure is triple the estimated decline in Dogecoin's market value in the 13 months before the lawsuit was filed.

Dogecoin Foundation, a nonprofit, is also a defendant and seeking the lawsuit's dismissal.

Musk's posts on Twitter, which he owns, have prompted multiple lawsuits.

He won a court victory on February 3 when a San Francisco jury found him not liable for tweeting in August 2018 that he had arranged financing to take Tesla private.

The case is Johnson et al v. Musk et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 22-05037.

© Thomson Reuters 2023
 

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TerraUSD Founder Do Kwon Indicted in US Following Montenegro Arrest

Do Kwon, the cryptocurrency entrepreneur behind two digital currencies that lost an estimated $40 billion (nearly Rs. 3,28,500 crore) or more last year, has been charged with fraud by US prosecutors.

An eight-count indictment against Kwon was made public in the US District Court in Manhattan, several hours after news of his arrest earlier Thursday in Montenegro.

Lawyers for Kwon in the United States did not immediately respond to requests for comment after business hours.

Thursday's indictment charges Kwon, a South Korean national who co-founded Terraform Labs and developed the TerraUSD and Luna currencies, with two counts each of securities fraud, wire fraud, commodities fraud and conspiracy.

The criminal case follows related US Securities and Exchange Commission civil charges against Kwon and Terraform last month.

Kwon had been a fugitive for several months, and South Korean authorities issued an arrest warrant for him last September.

South Korean police said on Friday that the identity of the suspect arrested in Montenegro had been confirmed as Kwon after his fingerprints matched the information held by the country's National Police Agency (KNPA).

"This has been shared with the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office and Interpol in Montenegro," one official at the KNPA said.

Prosecutors will work with other institutions to carry out a swift repatriation, a spokesperson for the country's prosecution service said.

Montenegro's interior ministry said police detained a person thought to be Kwon and a second suspect, who were trying to board a flight to Dubai at Podgorica airport.

Police found forged passports of Costa Rica and Belgium during the encounter, the ministry said.

"The person is suspected of being one of the most wanted fugitives, South Korean national Do Kwon, a co-founder and CEO of the Singapore-based Terraform Labs," Interior Minister Filip Adzic wrote on Twitter.

"The former cryptocurrency king who is behind losses of over $40 billion, has been apprehended at the Podgorica airport with forged documents," Adzic added.

TerraUSD was a so-called "stablecoin" designed to maintain a constant $1 price, while Luna's value fluctuated.

But authorities have said TerraUSD and Luna were paired, such that a decline in one could take down the other.

They also said Kwon misrepresented the stability of TerraUSD, once among the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market value.

Both currencies crashed last May, with TerraUSD's price sinking to less than one penny.

In its civil case, the SEC accused Kwon and Terraform of "orchestrating a multi-billion dollar crypto asset securities fraud.

"We also allege that they committed fraud by repeating false and misleading statements to build trust before causing devastating losses for investors," SEC Chair Gary Gensler said in a statement at the time.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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Japan Said to Restrict Chipmaking Equipment Exports, to Align With US China Curbs

Japan said on Friday it will restrict exports of 23 types of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, aligning its technology trade controls with a US push to curb China's ability to make advanced chips.

Japan, home to major global chip equipment makers such as Nikon and Tokyo Electron, did not specify China as the target of the measures, saying equipment makers would need to seek export permission for all regions.

"We are fulfilling our responsibility as a technological nation to contribute to international peace and stability," Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry Yasutoshi Nishimura told a news conference.

Japan wants to stop advanced technology being used for military purposes and does not have one specific country in mind with the measures, he said.

But Japan's decision is seen as a major diplomatic win for US President Joe Biden's administration, which in October announced sweeping restrictions on China's access to US chipmaking tech to slow its technological and military advances.

Without the cooperation of industry heavyweights Japan and the Netherlands, the US measures would be ineffective and its companies would face a competitive disadvantage.

Japan and the Netherlands in January agreed to join the U.S. in restricting equipment exports to China that could be used to manufacture sub-14 nanometre chips, but did not announce the pact to avoid provoking China, sources said earlier.

Japan has never publicly acknowledged any agreement.

A nanometre, or one-billionth of a metre, refers to a specific semiconductor industry technology, with fewer nanometres generally meaning the chip is more advanced.

In the Netherlands, the government said in a letter to parliament this month it planned to restrict chipmaking equipment exports. Dutch major ASML Holding NV dominates the market for lithography systems used to create chips' minute circuitry.

China, which has accused the US of being a "tech hegemony" because of its export restrictions, urged the Netherlands "not to follow export control measure by certain countries".

Limited Impact?

Japan said it would impose export controls on six categories of equipment used in chip manufacturing, including cleaning, deposition, lithography and etching.

The restrictions, effective from July, are likely to affect equipment manufactured by at least a dozen Japanese companies, such as Nikon, Tokyo Electron, Screen Holdings, and Advantest.

Takamoto Suzuki, head of economic research for Marubeni in China, said the measures would be a blow to Japanese equipment makers given the absence of a strong domestic chip market.

"It will undermine the market development of Japanese companies and certainly reduce their competitiveness from a regulatory aspect," he said.

When asked about the impact, minister Nishimura said, without elaborating, that he expected limited impact on domestic companies.

Some industry watchers point to potential sales elsewhere.

"If you take a long-term view, the effect will be diminished, with new semiconductor plants coming into operation in places like the United States and Japan," said Takahiro Shinada, a professor at Japan's Tohoku University.

Japan, which once dominated chip production but has seen its market share slip to about 10 percent, is still a major supplier of chipmaking machines and semiconductor materials. Tokyo Electron and Screen make around a fifth of the world's chipmaking tools, while Shin-Etsu Chemical and Sumco produce most silicone wafers.

Shares of Nikon and Advantest rose 0.8 percent and 1.9 percent respectively after the news, broadly in line with the wider market's 1.1 percent rise. Tokyo Electron and Screen were little changed.

"We will continue to comply with any rules and work to maximize our results within them," a Nikon spokesperson said.

Tokyo Electron and Advantest declined to comment.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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From smartphones with rollable displays or liquid cooling, to compact AR glasses and handsets that can be repaired easily by their owners, we discuss the best devices we've seen at MWC 2023 on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Meta Wins Lawsuit Against Photo Software Application Startup Phhhoto in the US

A US judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit against Meta Platforms Inc that alleged its Facebook social media business drove a now-defunct photo software application startup out of business in violation of federal antitrust law.

US District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto in Brooklyn, New York, federal court said in her 67-page order that Phhhoto Inc had failed to timely bring its claims under relevant US antitrust law that sets a four-year window and under New York state competition provisions that have a three-year statute of limitation.

"Phhhoto has failed in its 69-page amended complaint of 222 paragraphs to allege sufficient facts that cure the untimeliness of all of its federal claims," Matsumoto wrote. She said, "no exception applies to toll the limitations periods."

The court declined to allow Phhhoto to fine-tune its case and bring another complaint.

Lawyers for Phhhoto at plaintiffs' firm Hausfeld did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on Thursday.

In a statement, a Meta spokesperson described the suit as "meritless."

Phhhoto launched in 2014, providing an app that said it "created a five-frame, looping video." Meta two years earlier had acquired photo-sharing app Instagram for $1 billion (roughly Rs. 8,820 crore).

Phhhoto's lawsuit, filed in 2021, alleged Facebook aimed to "crush" the photo-sharing application, which called itself in court filings "an innovative nascent competitor."

"Meta used its control of critical infrastructure to degrade the quality of Phhhoto's content and the performance of its app, as well as to mislead and harm consumers," Phhhoto's attorneys told the court.

Facebook denied any anticompetitive conduct.

The case was among several actions accusing Facebook of violating competition law.

Facebook is defending against claims from the US Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C., federal court that the company abused its personal social networking dominance.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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From smartphones with rollable displays or liquid cooling, to compact AR glasses and handsets that can be repaired easily by their owners, we discuss the best devices we've seen at MWC 2023 on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Meta Wins Lawsuit Against Photo Software Application Startup Phhhoto in the US

A US judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit against Meta Platforms Inc that alleged its Facebook social media business drove a now-defunct photo software application startup out of business in violation of federal antitrust law.

US District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto in Brooklyn, New York, federal court said in her 67-page order that Phhhoto Inc had failed to timely bring its claims under relevant US antitrust law that sets a four-year window and under New York state competition provisions that have a three-year statute of limitation.

"Phhhoto has failed in its 69-page amended complaint of 222 paragraphs to allege sufficient facts that cure the untimeliness of all of its federal claims," Matsumoto wrote. She said, "no exception applies to toll the limitations periods."

The court declined to allow Phhhoto to fine-tune its case and bring another complaint.

Lawyers for Phhhoto at plaintiffs' firm Hausfeld did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on Thursday.

In a statement, a Meta spokesperson described the suit as "meritless."

Phhhoto launched in 2014, providing an app that said it "created a five-frame, looping video." Meta two years earlier had acquired photo-sharing app Instagram for $1 billion (roughly Rs. 8,820 crore).

Phhhoto's lawsuit, filed in 2021, alleged Facebook aimed to "crush" the photo-sharing application, which called itself in court filings "an innovative nascent competitor."

"Meta used its control of critical infrastructure to degrade the quality of Phhhoto's content and the performance of its app, as well as to mislead and harm consumers," Phhhoto's attorneys told the court.

Facebook denied any anticompetitive conduct.

The case was among several actions accusing Facebook of violating competition law.

Facebook is defending against claims from the US Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C., federal court that the company abused its personal social networking dominance.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

---

From smartphones with rollable displays or liquid cooling, to compact AR glasses and handsets that can be repaired easily by their owners, we discuss the best devices we've seen at MWC 2023 on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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E3 2023 Has Been Cancelled

E3 2023 has been cancelled — it's not happening in any form, in-person or digital, this year. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) confirmed the news on Twitter, following an original report from IGN based on emails sent to its members. It mentioned that while E3 was a beloved brand, the 2023 edition ‘simply did not garner the sustained interest necessary' to execute the event in a manner that would display the size and strength of the games industry. In January, the big three — PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo — pulled out of the summer video game event, leaving barely any major publishers.

Following IGN's report, E3 2023 organiser ReedPop issued a public statement. “This was a difficult decision because of all the effort we and our partners put toward making this event happen, but we had to do what's right for the industry and what's right for E3,” Kyle Marsden-Kish, Global VP of gaming, ReedPop said, adding that a lot of publishers and developers interested in the event wouldn't even have playable demos ready for showcase. “For those who did commit to E3 2023, we're sorry we can't put on the showcase you deserve and that you've come to expect from ReedPop's event experiences", he continued.

The show was supposed to be held from June 13–16 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, marking the first in-person E3 since the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. It took a virtual, digital approach in 2021, after which, the event got cancelled again in 2022.

News on #E32023 from the source. pic.twitter.com/BK7TUlb8mZ

— E3 (@E3) March 30, 2023

Earlier this week, Ubisoft backed out of E3 2023, after having previously committed to it. The publisher has chosen to ‘move in a different direction,' and will now hold its own, separate Ubisoft Forward Live event on June 12 in LA. Further details on the same will be revealed in time, albeit CEO Yves Guillemot promised ‘lots of things to show.' Following that announcement, even Tencent and Yakuza publisher Sega were confirmed to be skipping E3.

Just like Ubisoft, Microsoft will be hosting an Xbox Games Showcase on June 11, with an in-depth feature for Bethesda's upcoming sci-fi RPG Starfield, planned for later. Meanwhile, Nintendo and PlayStation will continue hosting their respective online events to showcase new games and updates. Alternatively, they could be joining hands with Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest — at this point, there's no telling.

Since 2020 — the pandemic era — Keighley's month-long-running Summer Game Fest has dethroned E3 as the industry's key destination to reveal the biggest games and news. Also, being a digital, online-only event, publishers don't have to spend large amounts to secure a physical booth. The year's festival kicks off on June 8 and has already swiped Xbox and Ubisoft from beneath E3's feet as some of its main highlights. The Summer Game Fest 2023 will be streamed live from the YouTube Theatre in Los Angeles, and funnily enough, put out its new promotional trailer right after ESA's announcement.

---

From Elden Ring to BGMI's ban, 2022 gave us a lot in the gaming space. We discuss it all on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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E3 2023 Has Been Cancelled

E3 2023 has been cancelled — it's not happening in any form, in-person or digital, this year. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) confirmed the news on Twitter, following an original report from IGN based on emails sent to its members. It mentioned that while E3 was a beloved brand, the 2023 edition ‘simply did not garner the sustained interest necessary' to execute the event in a manner that would display the size and strength of the games industry. In January, the big three — PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo — pulled out of the summer video game event, leaving barely any major publishers.

Following IGN's report, E3 2023 organiser ReedPop issued a public statement. “This was a difficult decision because of all the effort we and our partners put toward making this event happen, but we had to do what's right for the industry and what's right for E3,” Kyle Marsden-Kish, Global VP of gaming, ReedPop said, adding that a lot of publishers and developers interested in the event wouldn't even have playable demos ready for showcase. “For those who did commit to E3 2023, we're sorry we can't put on the showcase you deserve and that you've come to expect from ReedPop's event experiences", he continued.

The show was supposed to be held from June 13–16 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, marking the first in-person E3 since the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. It took a virtual, digital approach in 2021, after which, the event got cancelled again in 2022.

News on #E32023 from the source. pic.twitter.com/BK7TUlb8mZ

— E3 (@E3) March 30, 2023

Earlier this week, Ubisoft backed out of E3 2023, after having previously committed to it. The publisher has chosen to ‘move in a different direction,' and will now hold its own, separate Ubisoft Forward Live event on June 12 in LA. Further details on the same will be revealed in time, albeit CEO Yves Guillemot promised ‘lots of things to show.' Following that announcement, even Tencent and Yakuza publisher Sega were confirmed to be skipping E3.

Just like Ubisoft, Microsoft will be hosting an Xbox Games Showcase on June 11, with an in-depth feature for Bethesda's upcoming sci-fi RPG Starfield, planned for later. Meanwhile, Nintendo and PlayStation will continue hosting their respective online events to showcase new games and updates. Alternatively, they could be joining hands with Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest — at this point, there's no telling.

Since 2020 — the pandemic era — Keighley's month-long-running Summer Game Fest has dethroned E3 as the industry's key destination to reveal the biggest games and news. Also, being a digital, online-only event, publishers don't have to spend large amounts to secure a physical booth. The year's festival kicks off on June 8 and has already swiped Xbox and Ubisoft from beneath E3's feet as some of its main highlights. The Summer Game Fest 2023 will be streamed live from the YouTube Theatre in Los Angeles, and funnily enough, put out its new promotional trailer right after ESA's announcement.

---

From Elden Ring to BGMI's ban, 2022 gave us a lot in the gaming space. We discuss it all on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Alibaba to Monetise Non-Core Assets, Decide on Control of New Business Units After Breakup

Alibaba Group said on Thursday it will look to monetise non-core assets and consider giving up control of some businesses, as the Chinese tech conglomerate reinvents itself after a regulatory crackdown that wiped 70 percent off its shares.

Group CEO Daniel Zhang said the company's breakup into separate businesses will allow its units to become more agile and eventually list on their own.

His comments come two days after Alibaba announced its largest restructuring in the company's history, which will see it change into a holding company structure with six business units, each with their own boards and CEOs.

"Alibaba will be more of the nature of an asset and capital operator than a business operator, in relation to the business group companies," Zhang told investors on a conference call on Thursday.

On the same call, Alibaba CFO Toby Xu said the group would "continue to evaluate the strategic importance of these companies" and "decide whether or not to continue to retain control".

Alibaba's indication that it could divest from assets and sell control of business units after they go public comes more than two years after Beijing launched a sweeping crackdown on its tech giants, targeting monopolistic practices, data security protection and other issues.

While the new business units will have their own CEOs and boards, Alibaba will retain seats on those boards in the short-term, Zhang added.

The group's Hong Kong-listed shares opened 2.7 percent higher after the investor call and were still up 2% as of 0147 GMT.

Matter of survival

Alibaba began laying the groundwork for the restructuring a few years ago, Zhang told investors during a conference call.

As a result of the restructuring, each business unit can pursue independent fundraisings and IPOs when they're ready, Xu said, when asked about the timeline for the listings. The changes will come into effect immediately.

"We believe the market is the litmus test so each company can pursue financing and IPO as and when they are ready," said Xu.

Alibaba, however, will decide whether the group wants to keep strategic control of each unit after they go public, Xu said.

Meanwhile, the group is also planning to continue to monetise non-strategic assets in its portfolio to optimise its capital structure, said Xu.

Alibaba's major rival Tencent, has in the past year divested from a number of portfolio companies including selling a $3 billion (roughly Rs. 24,672 crore) stake in SEA, transferring $16.4 billion (roughly Rs. 1,34,843 crore) worth of JD.COM shares and $20 billion worth of Meituan shares to shareholders.

Alibaba's reorganisation will not change its share repurchase plan, Xu added on the call.

Qi Wang, CEO of China-focused asset manager MegaTrust Investment, said the sector's strategic move to reorganise was about survival.

"These internet firms are not going to just sit there and let regulation erode away their growth and profits," Wang said. "Companies including Tencent, Alibaba, JD, Didi and ByteDance have been making bottom-up changes to mitigate the regulatory risk, cost cutting (layoffs), improving operating efficiency, divesting non-core businesses."

Alibaba, once valued at more than $800 billion (roughly Rs. 65,77,240 crore), has seen its market valuation decline to $260 billion (roughly Rs. 21,37,629 crore) since Beijing started a crackdown on its sprawling tech sector in late 2020.

Some analysts say Alibaba is currently undervalued as a standalone conglomerate and a breakup would allow investors to value each business division independently.

The restructuring could also better protect Alibaba shareholders from regulatory pressures, as penalties levied on one division in theory would not affect the operations of another.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

---

The newly launched Oppo Find N2 Flip is the first foldable from the company to debut in India. But does it have what it takes to compete with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Alibaba to Monetise Non-Core Assets, Decide on Control of New Business Units After Breakup

Alibaba Group said on Thursday it will look to monetise non-core assets and consider giving up control of some businesses, as the Chinese tech conglomerate reinvents itself after a regulatory crackdown that wiped 70 percent off its shares.

Group CEO Daniel Zhang said the company's breakup into separate businesses will allow its units to become more agile and eventually list on their own.

His comments come two days after Alibaba announced its largest restructuring in the company's history, which will see it change into a holding company structure with six business units, each with their own boards and CEOs.

"Alibaba will be more of the nature of an asset and capital operator than a business operator, in relation to the business group companies," Zhang told investors on a conference call on Thursday.

On the same call, Alibaba CFO Toby Xu said the group would "continue to evaluate the strategic importance of these companies" and "decide whether or not to continue to retain control".

Alibaba's indication that it could divest from assets and sell control of business units after they go public comes more than two years after Beijing launched a sweeping crackdown on its tech giants, targeting monopolistic practices, data security protection and other issues.

While the new business units will have their own CEOs and boards, Alibaba will retain seats on those boards in the short-term, Zhang added.

The group's Hong Kong-listed shares opened 2.7 percent higher after the investor call and were still up 2% as of 0147 GMT.

Matter of survival

Alibaba began laying the groundwork for the restructuring a few years ago, Zhang told investors during a conference call.

As a result of the restructuring, each business unit can pursue independent fundraisings and IPOs when they're ready, Xu said, when asked about the timeline for the listings. The changes will come into effect immediately.

"We believe the market is the litmus test so each company can pursue financing and IPO as and when they are ready," said Xu.

Alibaba, however, will decide whether the group wants to keep strategic control of each unit after they go public, Xu said.

Meanwhile, the group is also planning to continue to monetise non-strategic assets in its portfolio to optimise its capital structure, said Xu.

Alibaba's major rival Tencent, has in the past year divested from a number of portfolio companies including selling a $3 billion (roughly Rs. 24,672 crore) stake in SEA, transferring $16.4 billion (roughly Rs. 1,34,843 crore) worth of JD.COM shares and $20 billion worth of Meituan shares to shareholders.

Alibaba's reorganisation will not change its share repurchase plan, Xu added on the call.

Qi Wang, CEO of China-focused asset manager MegaTrust Investment, said the sector's strategic move to reorganise was about survival.

"These internet firms are not going to just sit there and let regulation erode away their growth and profits," Wang said. "Companies including Tencent, Alibaba, JD, Didi and ByteDance have been making bottom-up changes to mitigate the regulatory risk, cost cutting (layoffs), improving operating efficiency, divesting non-core businesses."

Alibaba, once valued at more than $800 billion (roughly Rs. 65,77,240 crore), has seen its market valuation decline to $260 billion (roughly Rs. 21,37,629 crore) since Beijing started a crackdown on its sprawling tech sector in late 2020.

Some analysts say Alibaba is currently undervalued as a standalone conglomerate and a breakup would allow investors to value each business division independently.

The restructuring could also better protect Alibaba shareholders from regulatory pressures, as penalties levied on one division in theory would not affect the operations of another.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

---

The newly launched Oppo Find N2 Flip is the first foldable from the company to debut in India. But does it have what it takes to compete with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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FIFA Maker EA to Lay Off 6 Percent of Its Workforce, Will Incur Up to $200 Million in Related Charges

Electronic Arts said on Wednesday it would lay off about 6 percent of its workforce and reduce office space, making it the first major videogame publisher to announce job cuts.

Technology firms have led the latest round of layoffs as US companies brace for a potential economic downturn amid rising interest rates around the world.

Meta Platforms and Amazon.com announced a second round of job cuts this month. Tech layoffs hit 63,000 in the first two months of the year, according to data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.

EA, which had about 12,900 staff at the end of March last year, expects to incur between $170 million (roughly Rs. 1,398 crore) and $200 million (roughly Rs. 1,644 crore) in charges related to the restructuring.

"As we drive greater focus across our portfolio, we are moving away from projects that do not contribute to our strategy, reviewing our real estate footprint, and restructuring some of our teams," CEO Andrew Wilson said in a blog post.

EA, behind the "FIFA" soccer videogame franchise and "The Sims", will provide opportunities for employees to move to other projects and where that is not possible will provide severance pay and additional benefits, Wilson said.

Video game publishers are also struggling with a slowdown in player spending in the face of decades-high inflation, a change in fortunes from the meteoric growth witnessed during the pandemic.

Video game sales so far this year were flat and spending on video game content across platforms is down 2 percent, according to analytics firm Circana.

Electronic Arts lowered its annual bookings forecast in January after it delayed the release of a game based on the "Star Wars" franchise.

Newly launched Hogwarts Legacy game from Warner Bros Discovery topped the videogame sales charts in February, according to Circana.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

---

From Elden Ring to BGMI's ban, 2022 gave us a lot in the gaming space. We discuss it all on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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FIFA Maker EA to Lay Off 6 Percent of Its Workforce, Will Incur Up to $200 Million in Related Charges

Electronic Arts said on Wednesday it would lay off about 6 percent of its workforce and reduce office space, making it the first major videogame publisher to announce job cuts.

Technology firms have led the latest round of layoffs as US companies brace for a potential economic downturn amid rising interest rates around the world.

Meta Platforms and Amazon.com announced a second round of job cuts this month. Tech layoffs hit 63,000 in the first two months of the year, according to data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.

EA, which had about 12,900 staff at the end of March last year, expects to incur between $170 million (roughly Rs. 1,398 crore) and $200 million (roughly Rs. 1,644 crore) in charges related to the restructuring.

"As we drive greater focus across our portfolio, we are moving away from projects that do not contribute to our strategy, reviewing our real estate footprint, and restructuring some of our teams," CEO Andrew Wilson said in a blog post.

EA, behind the "FIFA" soccer videogame franchise and "The Sims", will provide opportunities for employees to move to other projects and where that is not possible will provide severance pay and additional benefits, Wilson said.

Video game publishers are also struggling with a slowdown in player spending in the face of decades-high inflation, a change in fortunes from the meteoric growth witnessed during the pandemic.

Video game sales so far this year were flat and spending on video game content across platforms is down 2 percent, according to analytics firm Circana.

Electronic Arts lowered its annual bookings forecast in January after it delayed the release of a game based on the "Star Wars" franchise.

Newly launched Hogwarts Legacy game from Warner Bros Discovery topped the videogame sales charts in February, according to Circana.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

---

From Elden Ring to BGMI's ban, 2022 gave us a lot in the gaming space. We discuss it all on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G Price Tipped; Confirmed to Pack a 5,000mAh Battery

OnePlus is all set to launch the successor to Nord CE 2 Lite in India on April 4. The company has confirmed to launch the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G on the above-mentioned date. A teaser page for the phone is already live on the OnePlus India website. The site has revealed its colour variants and key specifications. Meanwhile, a reliable tipster has now tipped the expected price of the upcoming smartphone in India. The OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite will be powered by a Snapdragon 695 5G SoC.

Tipster Abhishek Yadav (Twitter: @yabhishekhd) has tipped that the upcoming OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G will start at Rs. 21,999 in India. However, the storage variants of the upcoming smartphone are yet to be known. It is tipped to pack 8GB of RAM and 128GB of inbuilt storage.

The company has also shared that the phone will be equipped with a 5,000mAh battery with 67W fast charging support. Additionally, the phone will come in Pastel Lime and Chromatic Gray colour options.

A recent report also suggested the expected price of OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G in European markets. It is speculated to be priced at EUR 329 (roughly Rs. 29,000).

Meanwhile, other specifications of the phone have also been leaked. It is said to come with an LCD display with 1,800 x 2,400 pixels resolution, and a Snapdragon 695 5G SoC. The phone is tipped to feature a 108-megapixel triple rear camera setup with a 2-megapixel macro sensor and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. Moreover, leaked images have suggested that the phone will have a selfie camera housed in a hole-punch cutout.

The OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G will succeed the OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G that was launched in India last year. It features a 6.59-inch full-HD+ display with a dynamic refresh rate of 120Hz. The handset is powered by the octa-core Snapdragon 695 SoC, paired with Adreno 619 GPU and up to 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM. 

 

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The OnePlus 11 5G was launched at the company's Cloud 11 launch event which also saw the debut of several other devices. We discuss this new handset and all of OnePlus' new hardware on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/9zg3lJj

OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G Price Tipped; Confirmed to Pack a 5,000mAh Battery

OnePlus is all set to launch the successor to Nord CE 2 Lite in India on April 4. The company has confirmed to launch the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G on the above-mentioned date. A teaser page for the phone is already live on the OnePlus India website. The site has revealed its colour variants and key specifications. Meanwhile, a reliable tipster has now tipped the expected price of the upcoming smartphone in India. The OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite will be powered by a Snapdragon 695 5G SoC.

Tipster Abhishek Yadav (Twitter: @yabhishekhd) has tipped that the upcoming OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G will start at Rs. 21,999 in India. However, the storage variants of the upcoming smartphone are yet to be known. It is tipped to pack 8GB of RAM and 128GB of inbuilt storage.

The company has also shared that the phone will be equipped with a 5,000mAh battery with 67W fast charging support. Additionally, the phone will come in Pastel Lime and Chromatic Gray colour options.

A recent report also suggested the expected price of OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G in European markets. It is speculated to be priced at EUR 329 (roughly Rs. 29,000).

Meanwhile, other specifications of the phone have also been leaked. It is said to come with an LCD display with 1,800 x 2,400 pixels resolution, and a Snapdragon 695 5G SoC. The phone is tipped to feature a 108-megapixel triple rear camera setup with a 2-megapixel macro sensor and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. Moreover, leaked images have suggested that the phone will have a selfie camera housed in a hole-punch cutout.

The OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G will succeed the OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G that was launched in India last year. It features a 6.59-inch full-HD+ display with a dynamic refresh rate of 120Hz. The handset is powered by the octa-core Snapdragon 695 SoC, paired with Adreno 619 GPU and up to 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM. 

 

---

The OnePlus 11 5G was launched at the company's Cloud 11 launch event which also saw the debut of several other devices. We discuss this new handset and all of OnePlus' new hardware on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/9zg3lJj
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AI Chip Startup Cerebras Releases Open Source ChatGPT-Like Models for Free: All Details

Artificial intelligence chip startup Cerebras Systems on Tuesday said it released open source ChatGPT-like models for the research and business community to use for free in an effort to foster more collaboration.

Silicon Valley-based Cerebras released seven models all trained on its AI supercomputer called Andromeda, including smaller 111 million parameter language models to a larger 13 billion parameter model.

"There is a big movement to close what has been open-sourced in AI...it's not surprising as there's now huge money in it," said Andrew Feldman, founder, and CEO of Cerebras. "The excitement in the community, the progress we've made, has been in large part because it's been so open."

Models with more parameters are able to perform more complex generative functions.

OpenAI's chatbot ChatGPT launched late last year, for example, has 175 billion parameters and can produce poetry and research, which has helped draw large interest and funding to AI more broadly.

Cerebras said the smaller models can be deployed on phones or smart speakers while the bigger ones run on PCs or servers, although complex tasks like large passage summarization require larger models.

However, Karl Freund, a chip consultant at Cambrian AI, said bigger is not always better.

"There's been some interesting papers published that show that (a smaller model) can be accurate if you train it more," said Freund. "So there's a trade off between bigger and better trained."

Feldman said his biggest model took a little over a week to train, work that can typically take several months, thanks to the architecture of the Cerebras system, which includes a chip the size of a dinner plate built for AI training.

Most of the AI models today are trained on Nvidia's chips, but more and more startups like Cerebras are trying to take share in that market.

The models trained on Cerebras machines can also be used on Nvidia systems for further training or customization, said Feldman.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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From smartphones with rollable displays or liquid cooling, to compact AR glasses and handsets that can be repaired easily by their owners, we discuss the best devices we've seen at MWC 2023 on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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The Last of Us Part I’s PC Port in Bad Technical Shape, Developer Investigating Performance Issues

The Last of Us Part I was finally released on PC on Tuesday, March 28, and it's already getting bombarded with negative Steam reviews. At the time of writing, the game has a 33 percent positive rating, mainly owing to the broken state it was released in. Since its launch, there have been multiple reports in regard to performance issues, ranging from hard crashes, stuttering, poor optimisation, and long loading times. Developer Naughty Dog remade its 2013 magnum opus for the PS5 last year and originally planned on porting it to PC on March 3. However, it was then delayed to March 28, in light of ensuring that the game debuts in ‘the best shape possible'. Sadly, things don't seem to have gone according to plan.

In a tweet, Naughty Dog confirmed that it's ‘actively investigating' the issues. “We will continue to update you, but our team is prioritizing updates and will address issues in upcoming patches,” it reads. Prior to its launch, it seems that media outlets and content creators have not been provided with a press copy for The Last of Us Part I PC, which is quite unusual for Sony, as it has consistently sent review codes days — and sometimes, weeks in advance.

This time, developer Iron Galaxy was entrusted with the job of porting the game over to PC — the same group which was responsible for Batman: Arkham Knight's disappointing PC port back in 2015. While it did a decent enough job with Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection in 2022, TLOU's port seems to have been rushed out.

The Last of Us Part I PC System Requirements and Features Revealed

The Last of Us Part I PC players: we've heard your concerns, and our team is actively investigating multiple issues you've reported.

We will continue to update you, but our team is prioritizing updates and will address issues in upcoming patches.

— Naughty Dog (@Naughty_Dog) March 28, 2023

Gadgets 360 can confirm player reports regarding the game's ‘Shader Building' process, which in addition to being time-consuming, was causing random freezes. The Last of Us Part I's PC settings lean more toward CPU usage leading to micro stutters, while the graphics memory easily maxes out at medium settings. Players have also been reporting game crashes while idling in the main menu as they wait for shaders to build, in addition to encountering loading screens during cutscenes in-game.

“Pre-purchased & pre-loaded. Launched it as soon as it was ready. Went to the settings. Turns out this game is eating up nearly 10GB of VRAM at 1440p max settings (game defaulted the settings to maximum),” a Steam user wrote. “I'm running an RTX 3080 Ti with 12GB VRAM, mind you. Never could get past the menu screen which always crashes when the game displays a notification at the bottom right corner that reads ‘BUILDING SHADERS'.”

Players on the Steam Deck have been reporting issues as well — claiming that shaders are taking at least an hour to build, whilst running at 30fps on measly Low–Medium graphics settings. Bear in mind, Steam only allows for two hours of play time, before which you can request a refund. Poor game optimisation has been a common issue for PC gamers lately — Gotham Knights and the more recently-released Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty are great examples of that, running with micro stutters even at the lowest settings. Even Hogwarts Legacy on PC requires dedicated time to build shaders upon every launch, albeit the optimisation isn't as bad.

The Last of Us Part I is now available on PC via Steam and Epic Games Store. That said, I don't recommend that you purchase it until performance patches are released.

---

From Elden Ring to BGMI's ban, 2022 gave us a lot in the gaming space. We discuss it all on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/rVmAuIY

The Last of Us Part I’s PC Port in Bad Technical Shape, Developer Investigating Performance Issues

The Last of Us Part I was finally released on PC on Tuesday, March 28, and it's already getting bombarded with negative Steam reviews. At the time of writing, the game has a 33 percent positive rating, mainly owing to the broken state it was released in. Since its launch, there have been multiple reports in regard to performance issues, ranging from hard crashes, stuttering, poor optimisation, and long loading times. Developer Naughty Dog remade its 2013 magnum opus for the PS5 last year and originally planned on porting it to PC on March 3. However, it was then delayed to March 28, in light of ensuring that the game debuts in ‘the best shape possible'. Sadly, things don't seem to have gone according to plan.

In a tweet, Naughty Dog confirmed that it's ‘actively investigating' the issues. “We will continue to update you, but our team is prioritizing updates and will address issues in upcoming patches,” it reads. Prior to its launch, it seems that media outlets and content creators have not been provided with a press copy for The Last of Us Part I PC, which is quite unusual for Sony, as it has consistently sent review codes days — and sometimes, weeks in advance.

This time, developer Iron Galaxy was entrusted with the job of porting the game over to PC — the same group which was responsible for Batman: Arkham Knight's disappointing PC port back in 2015. While it did a decent enough job with Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection in 2022, TLOU's port seems to have been rushed out.

The Last of Us Part I PC System Requirements and Features Revealed

The Last of Us Part I PC players: we've heard your concerns, and our team is actively investigating multiple issues you've reported.

We will continue to update you, but our team is prioritizing updates and will address issues in upcoming patches.

— Naughty Dog (@Naughty_Dog) March 28, 2023

Gadgets 360 can confirm player reports regarding the game's ‘Shader Building' process, which in addition to being time-consuming, was causing random freezes. The Last of Us Part I's PC settings lean more toward CPU usage leading to micro stutters, while the graphics memory easily maxes out at medium settings. Players have also been reporting game crashes while idling in the main menu as they wait for shaders to build, in addition to encountering loading screens during cutscenes in-game.

“Pre-purchased & pre-loaded. Launched it as soon as it was ready. Went to the settings. Turns out this game is eating up nearly 10GB of VRAM at 1440p max settings (game defaulted the settings to maximum),” a Steam user wrote. “I'm running an RTX 3080 Ti with 12GB VRAM, mind you. Never could get past the menu screen which always crashes when the game displays a notification at the bottom right corner that reads ‘BUILDING SHADERS'.”

Players on the Steam Deck have been reporting issues as well — claiming that shaders are taking at least an hour to build, whilst running at 30fps on measly Low–Medium graphics settings. Bear in mind, Steam only allows for two hours of play time, before which you can request a refund. Poor game optimisation has been a common issue for PC gamers lately — Gotham Knights and the more recently-released Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty are great examples of that, running with micro stutters even at the lowest settings. Even Hogwarts Legacy on PC requires dedicated time to build shaders upon every launch, albeit the optimisation isn't as bad.

The Last of Us Part I is now available on PC via Steam and Epic Games Store. That said, I don't recommend that you purchase it until performance patches are released.

---

From Elden Ring to BGMI's ban, 2022 gave us a lot in the gaming space. We discuss it all on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/rVmAuIY
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Alibaba to Split Into 6 Units as China Vows to Ease Crackdown on Private Sector

Alibaba Group is planning to split into six units and explore fundraisings or listings for most of them, it said on Tuesday, in a major revamp as China vows to ease a sweeping regulatory crackdown and support its private enterprises.

The US-listed shares of the Chinese e-commerce conglomerate, which have lost nearly 70 percent of their value since the curbs were imposed in late 2020, rose more than 10 percent.

Alibaba said the biggest restructuring in its 24-year history would see it split into six units - Cloud Intelligence Group, Taobao Tmall Commerce Group, Local Services Group, Cainiao Smart Logistics Group, Global Digital Commerce Group and Digital Media and Entertainment Group.

The revamp comes a day after Alibaba founder Jack Ma returned home from a year-long stay abroad, a move that dovetailed with Beijing's effort to spur growth in the private sector after two years of crackdown.

Analysts said the breakup could ease scrutiny over the tech giant whose sprawling business has been a target of regulators for years.

"The original intention and fundamental purpose of this reform is to make our organisation more agile, shorten decision-making links and respond faster," Chief Executive Daniel Zhang said in a letter to staff, which was seen by Reuters.

Each business group, he said, had to tackle the rapid changes in the market and each Alibaba employee had to "return to the mindset of an entrepreneur".

Zhang will continue as chairman and CEO of Alibaba Group, which will follow a holding company management model, and also serve as CEO of Cloud Intelligence Group.

Each of the six businesses will have a CEO as well as a board of directors and will retain the flexibility to raise outside capital and seek an initial public offering, the company said.

The exception would be Taobao Tmall Commerce Group that handles China commerce businesses and will remain a wholly owned unit of Alibaba Group.

The company would "lighten and thin" its middle and back office functions, Zhang said, but did not detail job cuts.

Investors said the split signals the clearing of regulatory worries and allays concerns that Alibaba had lost the potential to grow.

The decision could also be partly a fallout of the US scrutiny of Chinese tech firms that raised national security concerns over TikTok and its parent ByteDance, said Tara Hariharan of emerging market hedge fund NWI Management.

"By paving the way for Alibaba's various new units to list, the Chinese government may be signalling less hostility towards its tech giants as a placatory message to US and international investors," said Hariharan, managing director of global macro research.

Ma's return

The restructuring is among the biggest corporate moves by a major Chinese tech company in recent years, as the industry cowered under tighter regulatory oversight, causing deals to dry up and dampening risk appetite among businesses.

Lately, authorities have been softening their tone towards the private sector as leaders try to shore up an economy battered by three years of strict COVID-19 curbs.

Companies, however, have been hesitant, privately pointing to a lack of new supportive policies and the new regulatory framework.

Alibaba's shares had received a boost on Monday after founder Ma returned to China as his overseas stay was viewed by the industry as a reflection of the sober mood of its private businesses.

China's new premier, Li Qiang, had recognised Ma's return to the mainland could help boost business confidence among entrepreneurs and since late last year had begun asking him to come back, five sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

"It does seem something of a coincidence that this is happening just as Ma seems comfortable returning. To me it suggests something that Alibaba has been wanting to do for some time, but has been waiting for the opportunity," said Stuart Cole, head macro economist at brokerage Equiti Capital.

The restructuring "does inject an element of flexibility and adaptability into the company, which currently is something of a behemoth," he said.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

---

Realme might not want the Mini Capsule to be the defining feature of the Realme C55, but will it end up being one of the phone's most talked-about hardware specifications? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/dofpGkO

Alibaba to Split Into 6 Units as China Vows to Ease Crackdown on Private Sector

Alibaba Group is planning to split into six units and explore fundraisings or listings for most of them, it said on Tuesday, in a major revamp as China vows to ease a sweeping regulatory crackdown and support its private enterprises.

The US-listed shares of the Chinese e-commerce conglomerate, which have lost nearly 70 percent of their value since the curbs were imposed in late 2020, rose more than 10 percent.

Alibaba said the biggest restructuring in its 24-year history would see it split into six units - Cloud Intelligence Group, Taobao Tmall Commerce Group, Local Services Group, Cainiao Smart Logistics Group, Global Digital Commerce Group and Digital Media and Entertainment Group.

The revamp comes a day after Alibaba founder Jack Ma returned home from a year-long stay abroad, a move that dovetailed with Beijing's effort to spur growth in the private sector after two years of crackdown.

Analysts said the breakup could ease scrutiny over the tech giant whose sprawling business has been a target of regulators for years.

"The original intention and fundamental purpose of this reform is to make our organisation more agile, shorten decision-making links and respond faster," Chief Executive Daniel Zhang said in a letter to staff, which was seen by Reuters.

Each business group, he said, had to tackle the rapid changes in the market and each Alibaba employee had to "return to the mindset of an entrepreneur".

Zhang will continue as chairman and CEO of Alibaba Group, which will follow a holding company management model, and also serve as CEO of Cloud Intelligence Group.

Each of the six businesses will have a CEO as well as a board of directors and will retain the flexibility to raise outside capital and seek an initial public offering, the company said.

The exception would be Taobao Tmall Commerce Group that handles China commerce businesses and will remain a wholly owned unit of Alibaba Group.

The company would "lighten and thin" its middle and back office functions, Zhang said, but did not detail job cuts.

Investors said the split signals the clearing of regulatory worries and allays concerns that Alibaba had lost the potential to grow.

The decision could also be partly a fallout of the US scrutiny of Chinese tech firms that raised national security concerns over TikTok and its parent ByteDance, said Tara Hariharan of emerging market hedge fund NWI Management.

"By paving the way for Alibaba's various new units to list, the Chinese government may be signalling less hostility towards its tech giants as a placatory message to US and international investors," said Hariharan, managing director of global macro research.

Ma's return

The restructuring is among the biggest corporate moves by a major Chinese tech company in recent years, as the industry cowered under tighter regulatory oversight, causing deals to dry up and dampening risk appetite among businesses.

Lately, authorities have been softening their tone towards the private sector as leaders try to shore up an economy battered by three years of strict COVID-19 curbs.

Companies, however, have been hesitant, privately pointing to a lack of new supportive policies and the new regulatory framework.

Alibaba's shares had received a boost on Monday after founder Ma returned to China as his overseas stay was viewed by the industry as a reflection of the sober mood of its private businesses.

China's new premier, Li Qiang, had recognised Ma's return to the mainland could help boost business confidence among entrepreneurs and since late last year had begun asking him to come back, five sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

"It does seem something of a coincidence that this is happening just as Ma seems comfortable returning. To me it suggests something that Alibaba has been wanting to do for some time, but has been waiting for the opportunity," said Stuart Cole, head macro economist at brokerage Equiti Capital.

The restructuring "does inject an element of flexibility and adaptability into the company, which currently is something of a behemoth," he said.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

---

Realme might not want the Mini Capsule to be the defining feature of the Realme C55, but will it end up being one of the phone's most talked-about hardware specifications? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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OnePlus Nord Buds 2 Specifications Leak Ahead of Launch on April 4; Tipped to Support Fast Charging

OnePlus Nord Buds 2 are set to launch in India on April 4 alongside the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite. The company has already confirmed the launch date on its official India website and on Twitter. Though the earbuds are still a few days away from their debut, a reliable tipster has leaked the detailed list of specifications for the upcoming Nord Buds 2. They will be launched as a successor to OnePlus Nord Buds which debuted last year in India.

Tipster Mukul Sharma (Twitter: @ Stufflistings) has leaked the purported specifications of the upcoming OnePlus Nord Buds 2. The earbuds are tipped to come with fast charging support and offer up to 36 hours of playback time along with the case. He also tipped that the earbuds will feature up to 25dB active noise cancellation and 12.4mm dynamic titanium drivers. The other leaked features are a 4-mic design and IP55-rated water and dust resistance.

Additionally, the colour variants of the upcoming OnePlus Nord Buds 2 have also been leaked. The earbuds are speculated to come in two colour shades - Thunder Gray and Lightning White.

The leak also suggests that the OnePlus Nord Buds 2 could be a rebranded version of the OnePlus Buds Ace that were launched last month in China. The earbuds from the company come with similar features like up to 36 hours of battery life, ANC noise reduction, 12.4mm dynamic audio driver, an IP55 rating for dust and water resistance, and fast charging support.

Meanwhile, the company has also teased the design and the colour variants of the upcoming OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite. The phone will come with a centre-aligned hole-punch cutout display. It will pack a triple rear camera setup with an LED flash, along with OnePlus branding, and is teased to come in a new Lemon colour option. 

 

---

The OnePlus 11 5G was launched at the company's Cloud 11 launch event which also saw the debut of several other devices. We discuss this new handset and all of OnePlus' new hardware on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Government Asks Telcos to Take Measures While Setting Up 5G Towers Near Airports

Telecom service providers have been advised to take various measures, including establishing safety and buffer zones, while placing 5G towers in the vicinity of airports to minimise interference of 5G services in aircraft operations, the government said on Monday.

Minister of State for Civil Aviation V K Singh told the Rajya Sabha that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has not conducted any study on the potential effect of 5G signals on safe civil aircraft operations.

"However, DGCA has, reviewed the studies/action undertaken by various countries during the launch of 5G on the potential interference of 5G C-band signals on radio altimeters installed on the aircraft and risk involved in air travel.

"The review has shown that there may be a likelihood of interference in the functioning of Radio Altimeter installed on aircraft due to C-band 5G signals which may affect vital aircraft systems and can lead to unsafe aircraft operations," he said in a written reply.

Based on the technical inputs received from the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), he said that while there is a guard band available in the frequency band allocated to 5G transmissions for International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) in India, there may be a possibility of interference with aircraft radio altimeters which may affect safe aircraft operations.

In order to minimise the interference, the Telecom Service Providers (TSP) have been advised to take various measures while placing 5G towers in the vicinity of airports.

They have been advised to establish safety and buffer zones in the vicinity of airports, restricting power levels of C-Band 5G transmissions around the airports, and ensure the tilt of 5G base stations to an extent such that the 5G emissions do not interfere with radio altimeters.

---

Realme might not want the Mini Capsule to be the defining feature of the Realme C55, but will it end up being one of the phone's most talked-about hardware specifications? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/n6LG3jK