Monday 12 February 2018

The Signs Your Child Might Have Screen Addition, Revealed

Children Engaged in Devices – Screen Addiction

With the progress in technology it is not surprising to see children engaged in deviceswhich have turnedthem into screen addiction. Though the approach of making them to start at an early age has been criticised by paediatric experts and adolescent researchers, several of the apps made available for download for children below five years of age in the Apple app store has shown that many parents as well as app developers have been ignoring the warnings with regards to the devices.

This exposure to screens for children comprising of video games, televisions, computers and tablets could be the reason for the addition trend which has been increasing – screen addiction. While this possibility has been considered by parents in the past by asking `how much screen time is too much? It seems that they had phrased the query wrongly.

As per a latest research published in the journal Psychology of Popular Media Culture, how children utilise the devices not on how much time they tend to spend on them, seems the strongest predictor of emotional or social issue lined with screen addiction’. Actually it does not really matter if a child tends to spend an hour or five, gazing at a screen, but would not suggest five hours duration.

An All-Consuming Activity

According to the new study there is more to it than the number of hours spent with the screen. What really matters whether usage of screen tends to cause issues in the other areas of life or it has become an all-consuming activity.

Now the query lies in how precisely could one tell if the child is addicted to screens. One needs to identify the warning signs like – should the screen time interfere with the daily activities, tends to cause conflict for the child or in the family or seems to be the only activity which brings some happiness to the child.

these gestures are displayed by the child, it could be essential to take action since screen addiction is connected to issues related to relationships, emotion and conduct. However considering it from the positive side, it could be most likely alright to keep them entertained with games on iPad for some time.

The television has been replaced by tablets and phone in soothing the children and keeping them busy. For instance, it has been revealed that one out of three kids tend to utilise gadgets much before they can even speak.

Kids utilising these devices at their tender age could have a substantial effect on the mental health of these toddlers.

Technology Addiction – Influence Behaviour/Sleeping Pattern


Dr Richard Graham, London-based Consultant Adolescent Psychiatrist and Clinical Psychologist Dr Jay Watts have stated that technology addiction could have an influence on the behaviour and sleeping pattern of a child. Five signs had been highlighted in an interview with MailOnline stating that one should observe if the child seems to be hooked.

 Moreover they had also emphasized on the importance of taking a digital detox in order to resolve the obsession. Dr Graham from the Capio Nightingale Hospital which is a mental health hospital located in central London had commented that when people tend to feel an uncomfortable sense of withdrawal when they are not online, is a known fact that the relationship with technology is not handled in a proper manner.

Dr Watts added that parents presently tend to struggle with understanding how crucial social media is to the present generation, the modern day playground is virtual. He added that when electronic devices began to have more importance over behaviour than anyone else or thing and when children seemed to get upset when they were deprived of the technology, it is at that point of time that one needs to begin changing things.

In the case of children the main issue is about the way they tend to get addicted to technology and the way they feel when using it.

Unhealthy Independence 

Those kids who tend to portray any indications of severe distress and agitation when deprived of the technology could be considered as unhealthy dependency. It could be somewhat a condition similar to a drug user and this unhealthy dependency could mean that the child gets agitated when they are deprived on the use of technology.

Dr Graham clarifies that the addiction could be apparent itself in other behaviour pattern. The influence of technology could affect the sleeping pattern of the child; interfere with meal times together with eating habits making the youngster to act up during play time. Dr Graham further stated that addicted children could also tend to be secretive as well as defensive regarding their devices and the usage of them and also debate with parents on a regular basis.

Moreover, children addicted to technology could also refrain or ignore real-life activities, refusing to go to locations where they would not be in a position to use their devices like the cinema.Dr Watts mentioned that it is quite guaranteed that parents are under the misconception that their kid has been spending much time on smartphone or online.

Restrict Time Spent on Usage of Technology 


The main concern is to talk to other parents at school or to observe if a child is more preoccupied than the others. If there seems to be a real difference, one needs to speak to the child regarding cybersafety but also study what could be on the mind of the child which could be addictive within and how this addiction could be helpful in avoiding in the real world.

 It seems essential to restrict the children on the time spend on the usage of technology in order to prevent the formation of unhealthy dependence according to Dr Graham. Techniques comprises of ensuring prolonged periods wherein the youngsters are absorbed on the `real world’ and play time with the other kids.

Forming a determined routine time allowance could be an excellent place to begin with. It could also be essential to ensure that adults switch off their phone or keep it on silent mode while having meals and while spending quality time with family and friends since examples given by the parents could be fruitful and meaningful.

Saturday 10 February 2018

Global Mobile Operators Select Qualcomm Snapdragon X50 5G Modem for Mobile 5G NR Trials in 2018

Move over 4G there’s a New Sheriff in Town: Mobile 5G

2018 is the year when the world opens its eyes to mobile 5G connectivity. Qualcomm is all set to showcase their Snapdragon X50 5G NR modem. Qualcomm has tied up with a number of OEMs to bring mobile 5G network to the world, with the first smartphone having the Snapdragon X50 5G NR mobile 5G network coming out in the first half of 2019. Chinese brand Vivo has also said that consumers can expect the first mobile 5G smartphone somewhere next year.

Some of the major mobile phone OEMs partnering with Qualcomm in their Snapdragon X50 5G modem trials are Xiaomi, Global, Nokia, Oppo, HTC, ZTE, LG and HMD. Notably absent from this list, are the companies- Samsung, Apple and Huawei, accounting for over 50% of the world’s smartphone market. Most of these names signing up for Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X50 5G modem have major presence in Asia rather than the US. There’s a more than possible chance that Asia maybe the first to see the likes of mobile 5G.

OEMs partnering with Qualcomm for mobile 5G: 


Fujitsu, Novatel wireless, Netgear, Sharp, WNC, Telit, Wingtech and NetComm Wireless are some of the other OEMs to sign up for mobile 5G with Qualcomm.

Devices manufactured by these OEMs will function at bandwidths of 6GHz and millimeter wavelength spectrum bands and will supposedly come out in 2019.

Other devices featuring Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X50 5G Modem with mobile 5G:


Other than OEMs featuring Snapdragon X50 5G modem, other devices to have mobile 5G are Always Connected PCs, VR Headsets and AR Headsets and Extended Reality Headsets. The speeds of this mobile 5G network are never seen before with speeds reaching 5Gbps and offering faster downloads, faster browsing speeds, better streaming from apps and instant cloud access on smart phones. The snapdragon X50 5G modem is also supposed to offer low latency in Always Connected PCs and ultra-low latency in HMDs.

The Qualcomm snapdragon X50 5G modem is going to be compatible with both 4G and mobile 5G networks.

Network Operators pairing up with Qualcomm on the mobile 5G Journey: 


Many network operators are also partnering up with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X50 5G network for mobile 5G. Some of the more prominent names are AT&T, Sprint China Telecom, British Telecom, China Unicom, China Mobile, NTT DOCOMO, Verizon, Orange, Telstra and Singtel besides others.
The aim is to combine Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X50 5G modem with Smartphone and other device’s designs that are compatible with mobile 5G and which are also compliant with mobile 5G standards. After that smartphones and other devices supporting mobile 5G will go in for commercialization.

Showcasing the Qualcomm Snapdragon X50 5G modem: 

Qualcomm is all set to showcase mobile 5G with their Snapdragon X50 5G modem in Barcelona at the Mobile World Congress. Qualcomm has a booth all set up with their mobile 5G modem delivering Speeds of several gigabytes per second.

A HTC headset with mobile 5G connectivity was recently launched at an industry event in Taiwan.

Thursday 8 February 2018

Nintendo's Next Big Mobile Game Will Be 'Mario Kart Tour'

Popular Kart Racer – Mario Kart Tour

Mario Kart Tour
An outbreak of Nintendo news had been announced recently among which was a Mario movie with the Despicable Me studio, the launch of online service of Nintendo and to summarize Miyamoto, the revelation that Nintendo’s is a `fun’ company and not a `games’ company.

However, the biggest news of all was the announcement of Nintendo which was their next huge mobile project - Mario Kart Tour. The game is presently under development and according to the company; the popular kart racer would be released in Android as well as iOS devices before March 2019.

This would be a first for the Mario Kart franchise on modern smartphones. Though Nintendo has not been sharing much besides a logo, there seems to be a lot from the disclosure and the time in the mobile spaces for Nintendo has been a hit or miss. Recently Miitomo their first experimental mobile had been shut down and Super Mario run excellently failed to convert interested player into playing players with its `one and one’ at a cost of $10.

However Fire Emblem Heroes in contrast had made $100M in its first year with its extremely profitable gacha model together with the Nintendo’s piece of huge $1 billion and Pokémon GO pie.

Nintendo Partnering with Illumination

The big question is where will Mario Kart Tour fall and how does Nintendo tend to monetize it? The company had announced that 14.86 million Switch consoles had been sold together with around half as many copies of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, a straight port of game which sold a further 8 million copies also on the Wii U.

Nintendo is said to have more mobile tiles in the pipeline. Initially the company had intended to release five smartphone games by 2017 though only Super Mario Run, Fire Emblem Heroes, Animal Crossing, Pocket Cam together with the ill-fated Miitomo social app had made it till now. The Wall Street Journal had reported last year that Nintendo had been operational on a Legend of Zelda mobile title.

Moreover, Nintendo had also made an announcement that it would be partnering with Illumination for a movie known as Mario. Illumination is well known for animated hit films like Despicable Me and Minions. Besides the title together with a release window, details pertaining to Mario Kart Tour mobile game have not been disclosed by Nintendo.

Additional Mobile Titles in Progress

Tweet of Nintendo reads thus `The chequered flag has been raised and the finish line is near. A new mobile application is now in development: Mario Kart Tour! #MarioKartTourReleasing in the fiscal year ending March 2019.’Now it is left to be seen and only time will tell what Mario Kart Tour achieves in maintaining its relative success of its smartphone siblings.

While the Nintendo Switch had sold around 15 million units from the time of its launch in March 2017, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe had sold around 7.33 million units. Nintendo could have additional mobile titles in progress. The company had observed that the smartphone linked revenue had been around JPY 29.1 billion, in its nine-month earnings report.

Monday 5 February 2018

Google Pixel 3 Release Date Rumours: This Could Be 2018’s Best Phone

Google Pixel 3

Rumor Has it: All We’ve Heard so Far about the new Google pixel 3



Since Google’s pixel first released in 2016, it has been one of the best phones that is out there. Google then repeated its spectacular performance with pixel two the year after. It will be no surprise now when Google pixel 3, which is slated to be released this year, will repeat that same performance.


As a major contender to Apple’s IPhone, The Google pixel 3 is a highly anticipated release. With a face id, doing away with the annoying bezel or reducing it and debuting with android’s latest release in the maybe department, the phone is also slated to have much more.

When can we expect the Google pixel 3?



Taking an educated guess, we would say that Google is all set on an October launch or to be specific, A launch date of October 4th with the Google pixel 3 coming on shelves somewhere between 16th to 19th of the same month.

Google has been fairly consistent when it comes to launching its phones. The first pixel came out on October 4th 2016 and pixel 2 came out on 4th October the following year, with both phones hitting the shelves on the 25th and 19th of the same month (different year naturally) respectively.

But keep in mind predicting the exact site of sale is not possible as or again you can take an educated guess as the Google pixel 3 has not actually been announced yet.

Rumor about the design of the Google pixel 3 and its features:



Based on an expert website, the Google pixel 3 is rumored to be coming out in 3 models codenamed albacore, crosshatch and blueline. These names are a part of Google’s tradition of naming all their products after species of fish.

As for the specs that the Google pixel 3 will have is anyone’s guess. There has not been much leaks regarding the Google pixel 3’s specs, but based on competing with other phones in the market, some of the latest specs might be seen on the Google pixel 3.

The Google pixel 3 is said to be coming with Qualcomm’s snapdragon 845 processor which is supposed to make the Google pixel 3 25% faster than its predecessor which runs on a 835 snapdragon chip.

Coming at the premium end of the market, all phones have started reducing the bezel surrounding the phone. It may come as no surprise if Google does the same as well.

Another feature the Google pixel 3 is rumored to have is the Face id that has become so popular with Apple’s IPhone. Besides this an under screen finger print scanner and wireless charging also seem to be in the specs list of the Google pixel 3 based on various experts in the field.

What we do know for certain based on past experience with pixel phones is that Google will launch their newest offering with the latest android OS which is the Android 9.0.

How much will the Google pixel 3cost?



Since Apple has launched IPhone X, prices of smartphones in the premium end of the market have increased so it may mean that the Google pixel 3 is likely to burn not only a huge hole in your pocket but also in your bank account.







Thursday 1 February 2018

Talking Artificial Intelligence to the Next Generation

Artificial Intelligence

Bringing artificial intelligence as a subject to study for younger generation

The world is moving towards the artificial intelligence and it will become an integral part of everything from technology, hardware, software to almost anything comprehensible. Before that happens we need to get our next generation known about its intricate and complex concepts and science governing it.

Taking artificial intelligence right to the younger audience wouldn’t be a simple task given its complexity. However a professor from the Queensland University of technology has found a remarkable way of teaching the intricate working of the artificial intelligence with a simple book titled “The Complete Guide to Artificial intelligence for Kids”.

Introducing Artificial intelligence to kids

The professor of the Robotics from QUT named Michael Milford is keen on making the young generation adept at understanding the artificial intelligence than any generation before them. He is introducing the AI to the kids in the primary school through a specially crafted book and a number of accompanying tactics which makes the complex themes and working of AI as simple enough to understand by a young mind. The best thing about this teaching methodology is that it can even used to teach AI even to the parents and grandparents alike which will help in creating a world where AI isn’t an enigma.

Michael has created this teaching program by drawing the insights from his vast experiences as the teacher as well as a capable researcher in the field robotics. He is also well versed in the field of the autonomous vehicles and even the exclusive brain-related technology.

In simple words he is best person to unlock the mysteries of the AI to the younger generation in a way which is both interaction and educational in every given manner. It is worth pointing out that Michael is regular speaker on the subject of Artificial intelligence at varied conference, schools, workshops and other popular events like World Science Festival Brisbane.



Michaela states that currently our world is buzzing with the talks about AI and the demand of deriving insights and information utilizing the AI capabilities is at its peak. We are bringing the AI right to the every basic sector of the society from the transport, finance, government to the public institutions. Therefore it is necessary to bring the knowledge of the artificial intelligence in tits and bits which help them in getting the bigger picture of the AI like even we can’t understand and or make them understand the way we know it.

Educating kids in their way using Artificial intelligence

The inspiration behind taking AI to the kids emerges from the constant enquiries made by his son about his work. IN order to make him understand about his work he had to make his understand some bits of the robotics then some bits about the AI. But when it came to AI he had make his understand a number of basic underlying concepts like how actually AI works, learns, interpret data and how good or bad affects it can have upon the society.

Artificial intelligence as simple as it sounds because it brings the culmination of varied fields like machine learning, science, computing, mathematics and other but this book helps in explaining everything to kids.