Technology

New Delhi: Amazon Spark, essentially a competitor to Instagram, has shut down less than two years since after its launch in July 2017. Spark was focused on users posting images, stories and ideas about products and purchases and was originally launched only for Amazon Prime members. Other users could then react with 'smiles' and comments, the CNET reported on Friday. Even as it was Instagram's competitor, Spark was primarily focused on shopping and sale.

While it tried to mock the Instagram aesthetic at times with fashion inspiration images or highly posed travel photos, it lacked the photo sharing app's broader appeal. Your friends weren't there and there weren't any Instagram Stories, for example. Everything felt too transactional, according to the TechCrunch. "Amazon declined to comment on the apparent shutdown of Spark but the service is gone from the website and app," the TechCrunch report added.

New Delhi: In a bid to cater to those who use low-end hardware and expand its user base, Chinese tech giant Tencent is set to bring a "Lite" version of its popular online game PUBG (PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds). PUBG Lite is already available in places like Hong Kong, Taiwan, Brazil and Bangladesh, but the PUBG India Facebook page has now confirmed that this version is coming to India soon. PUBG Lite, built for low-end hardware, is a toned down version of the original version.

Besides helping those with affordable smartphones, this new version of the game may also help players who face connectivity issues. Additionally, Tencent games will be releasing a new update for PUBG Mobile soon. The 0.13.0 update has already gone live in beta. According to a new report from mobile app intelligence firm Sensor Tower, Tencent's revenue from PUBG Mobile and its new version, Game For Peace, crossed $4.8 million a day in May, becoming the worlds top grossing mobile app.

New Delhi: From 150MB per app, Apple has finally increased iOS' cellular download limit to 200MB to help users download larger apps, especially when they are away from Wi-Fi. This is the first time since 2017 that the iPhone-maker has altered the download limit over mobile networks, Engadget reported on Friday. This should let users download larger apps in practice. The file size limit prevents iOS users from accidentally downloading a big game on LTE and blowing through their carrier's data cap, 9to5Mac reported on Friday.

New Delhi: Saving people the trouble of having to download an additional app, Google is now letting users order food directly via Search, Maps, or Assistant using its partnerships with delivery companies. Google has added a new "Order Online" button on Search and Maps which would appear when users would search for a supported restaurant, The Verge reported on Thursday. Users can pick between pickup and delivery and select which service they want to order their food through.

f the restaurant supports it, the ordering selections would be made entirely through Google's interface and Google Pay. Users can ask Google Assistant to repeat a previous order as well.

New Delhi: US Senators and a group of 19 consumer and public health advocates have accused Amazon for recording and saving conversations that take place around its smart speakers, urging the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate into the case. The complaint alleges Amazon's Echo Dot Kids Edition smart speaker of being in violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), CNN reported late on Thursday. Launched last year, the device features a kid-friendly version of Alexa which plays music, reads stories and answers questions to kids.

As part of the complaint, Senators Edward J. Markey, Richard Blumenthal, Dick Durbin and Josh Hawley claim that "Amazon does not comply with COPPA's requirement of parental consent and does not allow parents to adequately delete their children's information from the device". Children welfare organisations like the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood and the Centre for Digital Democracy have also asked the FTC to look into the matter.