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Honor 8 Lite launched with 5.2-inch display and Kirin 655 processor

Honor 8 Lite, the cheaper and slightly low-powered variant of Honor 8 smartphone has been launched in Finland. The smartphone appeared in the form of renders before and has specifications similar to that of 2017 Huawei P8 Lite. The smartphone features metal and glass design and will be available in black, white, blue and gold colour options.

Honor 8 Lite comes with a 5.2-inch Full HD LTPS display and is powered by company's very own HiSilicon Kirin 655 processor. The processor is same as the one found under the hood of Honor 6X smartphone. The smartphone is aided by 3GB RAM and 16GB internal storage as opposed to 4GB RAM and 32GB storage found on Honor 8.

Honor 8 Lite also drops the dual rear camera setup found on Honor 8 in favour of a single 12MP rear camera. The rear camera comes with an aperture of f/2.2 and supports phase detection autofocus. There is also an 8MP front camera for selfies.

Honor 8 Lite sports a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor and houses a 3000mAh battery. The smartphone runs EMUI 5.0 based on Android 7.0 Nougat. According to Finnish site SuomiMobiili, the smartphone is available for pre-order in Finland for €269 and will go on sale from February 17. The handset will only be available in Black and White colour variants while Gold and Blue options will hit shelves at the end of March

What is M-SIPS?

 It is  a Modified Special Incentive Package Schema notified on 27.7.2012. 

The scheme is available for both new projects and expansion projects. The scheme provides capital subsidy of 20% in SEZ (25% in non-SEZ) for units engaged in electronics manufacturing. It also provides for reimbursements of CVD/ excise for capital equipment for the non-SEZ units. For some of the high capital investment projects like fabs, it provides for reimbursement of Central Taxes and Duties. The incentives are provided on reimbursement basis. The incentives were available for 29 electronic verticals. Units all across the manufacturing value chain are covered under the scheme. For each of the product category, an investment threshold is prescribed which an applicant has to incur for getting eligible for incentives. The investment threshold varies from Rs 1 Crore to Rs 5000 Crores depending upon a type of project. The incentives are available for 10 years from the date of approval. The scheme was initially opened for 3 years till 26-07-2015 .

The scheme was amended on August 3, 2015. The salient amendments include :

(i) The term of the scheme has been extended upto 27-07-2020. 

(ii) The scope of the scheme has been extended to cover additional verticals. 

(iii) The procedure for grant of approval has been simplified and streamlined.

The incentives are now available for investments made in a project within a period of 10 years from the date of application

The M-SIPS require applicants to submit applications with Financial Closure (tied up funds) for the project they propose to execute. The Financial Closure for a project, however, can be given in phases.

As per para 6.1 of M-SIPS notification, to consider the applications under the scheme and to submit it’s recommendations, an Appraisal Committee headed by Additional Secretary , DeitY have been constituted.

The non- refundable application fee which is required to be submitted along with the application form has been separately notified. It varies from Rs 10,000/- for projects costing less than 10 crores to Rs 1,00,000/- for projects costing 10,000 crores and above.

M-SIPS scheme is presently open to receive applications. All Initial applications which will be received by DeitY on or before 26-07-2020 will be considered for incentives under M-SIPS. The Nodal Officer is the key contact for all communications relating to M-SIPS. Nodal Officer(M-SIPS) has been appointed. All applications under M-SIPS are required to be submitted online at www.msips.in. Any further communication with regard to the application can be addressed to Nodal Officer(M-SIPS), Department of Electronics and IT, Electronics Niketan, Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003.

Budget 2017: Here’s where mobile phone prices are heading

The price of mobile phones is likely go up next fiscal with the Budget 2017-18 bringing in a Special Additional Duty (SAD) of two per cent on PCBs or Printed Circuit Boards used in the manufacture of mobile phones. Till now SAD was zero, but the new two per cent duty will be imposed on all imported PCBs.

Since PCBs account for nearly 40-50 % of the mobile phone’s value, an increased duty on these components will result in a price rise. It is expected that one per cent value impact on the price of the mobile, but obviously this is not going to happen overnight. While one per cent might not seem much, if you take into consideration the number of mobile phones being manufactured and sold in India, this duty will translate into a bigger cost for the company.

The PCB is the main constituent in mobile phones as well as other electronic devices. This duty is to boost manufacturing of the parts in India, and these are baby steps that are being taken. However, tax incentives alone won’t result in manufacturing in India.

The government has taken other steps that will eventually boost component manufacturing in India. They have increased allocation for M-SIPS scheme, and are looking at other incentives as well.

Of course, the cost of manufacturing mobiles will go up for companies in India. Now whether they pass this onto consumers or not, will depend on vendor-to-vendor.

The government has been trying to provide tax incentives to boost manufacturing in India, and the eventual aim is to have an entire ecosystem of components here. According to us, the government’s idea is to create real manufacturing in India as India is focusing on manufacturing i.e. Make In India Campaign . Currently what is happening here is mere assembly of kits. Eventually, we need a proper manufacturing of parts here, not just PCBs, but also display, battery, semi-conductor and other components.

But not all are convinced this two per cent duty will result in a hike.  “There has been a 2% increase in duties levied on import of PCBA in India, which still will reflect only on one part of the manufacturing cycle with focus on assembly of mobile handsets. On the other hand, providing attractive incentives for localization of design and R&D capabilities would have bolstered the ‘Make in India’ initiative, and driven more handset makers to introduce design led manufacturing in India.

New Android 'Switcher Trojan' infects Wi-Fi routers by changing DNS settings

A new Android OS virus has been discovered by cybersecurity firm, Kaspersky Lab, and the same is being termed as ‘Switcher Trojan’. The virus infects Android OS powered devices and uses them as tools to infect a user’s Wi-Fi router. It then changes the DNS settings of the router and starts redirecting traffic from the Wi-Fi connected devices to websites controlled and operated by attackers, making users vulnerable to malware, phishing and adware attacks.

What happens is that when an IP address is assigned to a web address, the Switcher Trojan hijacks the process and gives the attackers complete control over the network activity.  This works because Wi-Fi routers usually change the DNS settings of all the devices connected to them, and reconfigure them to their own settings.

According to Kaspersky, “The infection is spread by users downloading one of two versions of the Android Trojan from a website created by the attackers. The first version is disguised as an Android client of the Chinese search engine, Baidu, and the other is a well-made fake version of a popular Chinese app for sharing information about Wi-Fi networks.” The company adds that the rogue DNS planted by attackers also has a secondary DNS as a backup, just in case the ongoing rogue DNS goes down. “The Switcher Trojan marks a dangerous new trend in attacks on connected devices and networks. It does not attack users directly. Instead, it turns them into unwilling accomplices: physically moving sources of infection. The Trojan targets the entire network, exposing all its users, whether individuals or businesses, to a wide range of attacks - from phishing to secondary infection. A successful attack can be hard to detect and even harder to shift: the new settings can survive a router reboot, and even if the rogue DNS is disabled, the secondary DNS server is on hand to carry on. Protecting devices is as important as ever, but in a connected world we cannot afford to overlook the vulnerability of routers and Wi-Fi networks,” said Nikita Buchka, mobile security expert, Kaspersky Lab.

The company warns that all users should check their DNS settings and search for the following rogue DNS servers:

• 101.200.147.153
• 112.33.13.11
• 120.76.249.59

If any of these servers are found in DNS settings, then it is recommended that users contact their Internet Service Providers and change login IDs, passwords.