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Gboard, WhatsApp for Desktop, Pebble in India, and More News This Week

Gboard, WhatsApp for Desktop, Pebble in India, and More News This Week 721o1w

By Gadgets 360 Staff | Updated: 15 May 2016 22:35 IST

Highlights

Google released 'Gboard' that may be the best iOS keyboard yet.
WhatsApp has released a desktop app that you may not need.
Pebble has officially launched in India - and a whole lot more.

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If you've missed out on the big news of the week, you've come to the right place, as we attempt to get you caught up on everything you need to know in one quick read. And there has been a lot of interesting stuff happening this week. Here are some of the highlights, and also check out the latest episode of our Orbital podcast. 40721k

For starters, we had some important launches, such as the Pebble, is finally officially in India. Prices start at Rs. 5,999, and go up to Rs. 15,999 for the Pebble Time Steel.

Apart from these launches, we also got Lenovo Zuk Z1.

(Also see: Top 5 Features of Xiaomi's Largest Smartphone)

Supreme Court nixed Trai's regulation for telcos to compensate us for call drops. It's a little ironic that the companies are now taking strong stands on call drops - now that the issue of compensation is off the table.

(Also see: Telcos React to Call Drop Penalty Ruling, Say They Want 'Real' Issues Fixed)

Facebook had an interesting week as well. At the start of the week, it was alleged that the company has been Facebook also released employee guidelines amid the accusations.

(Also see: Why Bias Complaints About Facebook's Trending Is a Big Deal)

One big piece of news if you use WhatsApp on your laptop at work because your boss will yell at you if he sees you tapping away on your phone all day - overhauled its logo and apps, though most of the Internet was not pleased. Most people made fun of the new logo, across a variety of social networks.

Meanwhile, how Gboard, which brings Google Search to the iPhone keyboard. This enables s to search for emojis or gifs while typing, or to insert search results into a text directly from the keyboard. Clearly no company wants to miss out on the highly lucrative iPhone keyboard market - expect Facebook to launch one at this rate!

(Also see: Google's Gboard Could Be the Best iPhone Keyboard Yet)

Truecaller also brought live caller ID for iPhones, sort of. It only works if another Truecaller is calling you, and is on the latest version of the app, and if they're calling you from an iPhone, then they need to place the call through the Truecaller app as well. It's... not very effective for now - it wasn't working for a lot of s, and did not work when we tried it either.

There's also a strong chance that Google will launch the anticipated standalone Android VR headset at Google I/O next week. This headset won't need to be connected to a PC, or have a smartphone inserted into it to work. Expect it to fall somewhere between existing mobile VR devices and high-end PC VR devices such as the Oculus Rift, in of pricing and capabilities. A standalone device could help with adoption from enthusiasts, which in turn will help create an audience for early content creators, but in the long run, if this technology is going to see mass adoption, Cardboard remains the most exciting bet in the mix.

(Also see: 'I Feel Sick, Give Me the Bucket': What 25 Hours in Virtual Reality Feels Like)

More Google news - if you were Google Translate now works in any app on Android, which sounds extremely useful, and it also gets an offline mode for iOS.

(Also see: Android Doesn't Really Need 3D Touch)

Oh also, you may have come across headlines saying that Apple has now invested in Ola. That's sort of correct, but also very wrong. Apple invested $1 billion in Didi Chuxing (formerly Didi Kuaidi), Uber's rival in China. Didi is in turn a strategic investor in Ola - it's invested in companies competing with Uber around the world.

Not a lot of good news for gamers this week - Uncharted 4 was a fitting farewell to Nathan Drake.

There was also some very cool science news this week - automaker astronomers have added 1,284 planets to the list of worlds beyond the solar system, taking the total list to over 3,264. Of the 1,284 new planets, apparently 550 could be rocky like Earth, with nine possibly in orbits suitable for surface water that could bolster the prospects of ing life.

(Also see: Live Braille Aims to Help the Visually Challenged Move About Independently)

Incidentally, a new study shows that smartphone use can also cause attention deficiency but if you're reading this on a phone and have made it this far, then you're probably doing fine.

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