Asus challenges iPhone X with all-screen, AI-powered Zenfone 5, Zenfone 5z

Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Asus on February 27 showcased the Zenfone 5z and Zenfone 5 at the Mobile World Congress. The smartphones are identical in looks and have similar features. However, these identical twins are powered by different breeds of processors and have different RAM configurations to differentiate.

The next-generation Zenfone-series boasts artificial intelligence capabilities, which, unlike some of the other phones, are not limited to just camera but have access to display, ringtone, battery and live videos as well.

Apart from the AI capabilities, the Zenfone 5z and Zenfone 5 have 90 per cent screen-to-body ratio, thanks to their 6.2-inch fullHD+ screen covering almost the entire front. The 19:9 aspect ratio leaves just a small notch on top to accommodate an 8-megapixel camera, earpiece and sensors – just like in Apple iPhone X but smaller.

Asus Zenfone 5Asus Zenfone 5 – Back On the back, the smartphones sport a dual-camera set-up, which features 12MP and 8MP shooters.

Flipkart Apple Days: iPhone 7 for OnePlus 5T price, iPhone X at Rs 82,999

Home-grown e-commerce giant Flipkart has put up a promotional sale for Apple products, a second time in February. Dubbed as Apple Days, the promotional offer started on February 27 and will go on until March 2.

Under Apple Days, the e-commerce portal is offering iPhones, iPads and smartwatches at discounted prices, along with an extra cashback of 5 per cent to SBI customers.

The online shopping portal is also providing a no-cost equated monthly instalment (EMI) option, which removes the interest component from fixed monthly instalments on select products.

Here are some of the best offers under Apple Days:

iPhone X

The anniversary-edition iPhone X was launched in the 64GB and 256GB storage variants at Rs 89,000 and Rs 1,02,000, respectively. Under the offer, the e-commerce portal is selling the iPhone X at Rs 82,999 and Rs 98,999 for the 64GB and 256GB, respectively.

iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus

The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus base models with 64GB storage had been launched at Rs 64,000 and Rs 73,000, respectively.

Under Apple Days, Flipkart is offering the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus smartphones at Rs 54,999 and Rs 64,999, respectively.

The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus models with 256GB storage — launched at Rs 77,000 and Rs 86,000, respectively — are being offered at Rs 69,999 and Rs 79,999.

Sridevi funeral: State honour for actor, celebs pay respect, & more updates

Veteran actor Sridevi will be cremated with state honours. The Maharashtra government has made arrangements for the elaborate event and the Mumbai Police band has already reached Celebration Sports Club. The actor will be honoured with a gun salute and the body will be draped in the national flag.

Earlier, Bollywood celebrities lined up to pay their final respect to Sridevi at Mumbai’s Celebration Sports Club, where her mortal remains had been kept for condoling fans and celebs to pay their final tributes to the veteran actor. Aishwarya Rai, Sushmita Sen, Karan Johar were among the celebs to who paid their last respect.

Her mortal remains arrived in Mumbai on Tuesday night and the funeral will take place today at 3.30 pm. Her family announced that Sridevi’s body would be kept at Celebration Sports Club in Lokhandwala for people to pay their last respect before it is taken for cremation.

“On behalf of Khushi, Jahnvi, Boney Kapoor, the entire Kapoor and Ayyappan families, a sincere thanks to the media for your continued sensitivity and support during this emotional moment,” a statement released by the Kapoor family said.

Ashok Leyland hits fresh high ahead of February sales figures

Shares of Ashok Leyland hit a fresh high of Rs 142, up 3% on the BSE in intra-day trade in otherwise weak market ahead of February sales figures. The commercial vehicles (CV) maker will announce its monthly sales volumes data on Thursday, March 1, 2018.

The stock has outperformed the market by surging 13% thus far in February, after the company reported good sales numbers for the month of January and more-than-doubled net profit in October-December (Q3FY18) quarter. On comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex trading 0.42% lower at 12 pm; was down 5% during the month.

The CV manufacturer posted 22% year on year (YoY) growth in total sales of 18,101 units during January 2018, compared to sales of 14,872 vehicles in the same month last year. It posted nine months sales (April 2017-January 2018) with a nominal surge of 20%.

Ashok Leyland’s net profit grew by 142% YoY to Rs 4.5 billon on back of 60% YoY jump in sales at Rs 71.1 billion, led by volume growth of 42% YoY.

Morgan Stanley cuts its India overweight to 50 bps, citing weak earnings

Morgan Stanley has reduced its overweight stance on India in its portfolio to 50 basis points (bps) from 150 bps earlier, citing disappointment in earnings. Going ahead, it sees the impact of higher oil prices, the election calendar and the prospect of a higher deficit as obstacles for the market index.

“We cut our overweight in India to 50 bps, after disappointing earnings season and slowing revisions breadth.

Quantitatively, India ranks well on a fundamental basis (strategist and stock analyst views), but valuations are not particularly cheap (especially on a price-to-earnings basis); and earnings estimate revisions, while near record highs for India, are now lower relative to regional peers,” Morgan Stanley said in a note.

Besides India, it remains overweight on Thailand (increased by 50 bps to 150 bps now), China, Brazil, Singapore and New Zealand. At the global level, the research and brokerage firm has upgraded Singapore to overweight (from equal weight) and Peru to equal weight (from underweight).

PNB stock cracks 6% to hit 20-month low after Firestar files for bankruptcy

Shares of Punjab National Bank slumped over 6 per cent and fell to a 20-month low on the bourses after Nirav Modi’s Firestar Diamond filed a bankruptcy plea in the United States (US) and a local court in Mumbai issued summons to the accused diamantaire.

Meanwhile, media reports have surfaced that Nirav Modi is not coming back to India anytime soon.

Reacting to the developments, the stock today fell to an intra-day low of Rs 92, down 6.45 per cent over its previous closing price on BSE.

The stock has fallen to a level last seen on June 20, 2016.

Since February 14, when the scam broke, the stock has fallen as much as 37 per cent on BSE.

On the NSE as well, the stock touched a fresh 52-week low of Rs 92.

Nirav Modi‘s international jewellery business Firestar Diamond filed a bankruptcy plea in the US.

Furthermore, a local court in Mumbai has issued summons to the diamantaire in connection with an income tax evasion probe against him and his companies.

PNB fraud: Nirav Modi may face non-bailable warrant; top 10 developments

Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi’s overseas businesses and assets across more than a dozen countries are under the scanner of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which will soon send judicial requests to countries like Belgium, Hong Kong, Switzerland, the United States, the United Kingdom, Dubai, Singapore, and South Africa for obtaining information about them as part of the widening of its probe into the Rs 114-billion Punjab National Bank (PNB fraud case.

Nirav Modi, his wife Ami, and uncle Mehul Choksi have been summoned by the ED to appear at its zonal office in Mumbai on Monday. According to sources, if they skip the summons, the agency could approach a special PMLA court to get non-bailable warrants issued against them.

Modi has already had his luxury cars, including a Rolls Royce Ghost, a Mercedes Benz, and a Porsche Panamera, and imported watches, seized in the past week. During the weekend, the Income-Tax department seized over 150 paintings by renowned artists from Nirav Modi’s warehouse located at Wadala in Mumbai.

While probe agencies continue to put pressure on Modi and Choksi, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) assured of an “accelerated inquiry” into auditors’ role in the PNB fraud.

Sridevi cremation delayed, not possible before sunset: Top 10 developments

The mortal remains of Sridevi, revered as Bollywood’s first female superstar, will arrive India a few hours later than earlier expected. Her last rites, earlier expected to take place around 11.00 am, will, therefore, also have to be delayed.

The veteran actor, 54, had passed away following a cardiac arrest late on Saturday night in Dubai. Sridevi acted in over 300 films in her impressive career spanning five decades. She was in Dubai along with her younger daughter Khushi and husband Boney Kapoor for the wedding of her nephew Mohit Marwah.

Here are the top 10 developments since the death of the legendary actor:

1. Funeral to be delayed: Sridevi’s funeral might not take place before sunset, according to Khaleej Times. Officials from the Indian consulate have told the daily that Sridevi’s body will be ready for repatriation by 1 to 2 pm, Dubai time (3.30 pm IST). The process will take 3 to 4 hours after police clearance.

3. Autopsy certificate: The mortal remains of Sridevi will be handed over to the family only after her autopsy report is clear. The autopsy report could be received from the government by 8:30-9 am Dubai time (10-10:30 am IST), Major Habib from the Dubai police department had told India Today earlier.

4. How it happened: Sridevi was getting ready for a dinner with husband Boney Kapoor in Dubai when she suffered a cardiac arrest at their hotel room, according to Khaleej Times.

Describing the incident, the report claimed that the cardiac arrest took place when she was in the bath. Boney Kapoor, when she did not return for 15 minutes, knocked at the door and later forced open the door to discover Sridevi lying motionless in the bathtub filled with water. The actress was declared dead by the paramedics who visited the site soon after.

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Samsung Galaxy S9 vs Apple iPhone X: From price to design, how they compare

When Microsoft revealed a replacement to Windows 8, it skipped the number 9 and went straight to Windows 10. Apple’s iPhone 8 was followed by the iPhone X (pronounced “ten”). But Samsung refused to follow: The successor to its Galaxy S8 is the Galaxy S9 (and a larger S9 Plus), and it’s coming out in March.

The phone is critical for the company. Samsung needs to show it has the hardware and software chops to maintain its leadership in the Android market, while proving Apple isn’t king of smartphone design. Then there’s fending off rising Chinese competition from Huawei and reassuring investors that Vice Chairman Jay Y. Lee has the company’s future under control since his legal woes commanded global headlines.

But above all, Samsung needs to be better than the iPhone X in the eyes of consumers. Here’s how they compare.

Photography and video

Great pictures are essential for any top-end phone. Samsung has equipped the S9 Plus with two cameras: a wide-angle, and a telephoto (like the iPhone X) and both capture at a resolution of 12 megapixels (also like the iPhone X). Samsung even mounts the two lenses of the S9 Plus vertically — something Apple also does with its flagship.

Sterlite Technologies surges 10% post Rs 35 billion advance purchase order

Sterlite Technologies has surged 10% to Rs 379 on the BSE in early morning trade after the company announced that it has been awarded a Rs 35 billion advance purchase order to design, build and manage the Indian Navy’s communications network.

“The company is to build Next Gen Communications Network for the Indian Navy. The Rs 35 billion system integration project will enable the Indian Navy with a digital communications network at par with the most advanced naval forces globally,” Sterlite Technologies said in a press release.

The scope requires Sterlite Tech to design, build and manage the communications network for over a decade through its system integration capabilities. Unparalleled in scope and size, the project includes the creation of a high-capacity IP-MPLS (Internet Protocol – Multi Protocol Label Switching) network.

Once completed, it will link multiple Indian naval sites and India-administered islands, it added.

At 09:54 am; the stock was trading 6% higher at Rs 365, as compared to 0.55% rise in the S&P BSE Sensex. A combined 2.23 million shares changed hands on the counter on the BSE and NSE so far.