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India's Supreme Court rules Kashmir internet shutdown is illegal
India's government has one week to review a long-running internet shutdown in Kashmir after the country's Supreme Court ruled that internet access is protected under the Indian constitution. Kashmir has not had internet access since August 2019 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu-nationalist party voted to revoke the territory's special status under Article 370 of the Indian constitution.
India ruling party accused of tricking Twitter users into backing a law
India's governing Bhratiya Janata Party has been accused of using Twitter to artificially drum up support for a law. Multiple observers have noticed that thousands of Twitter users, many of them linked to the ruling party, have been deceptively sharing a phone number meant to show support for the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act. The false claims have ranged from promising free Netflix and mobile data to job opportunities and offers of sex.
India's proposed data laws give the government more access to data
The latest version of India's Personal Data Protection bill could require companies to gain permission before using individuals' personal data, and citizens would be able to demand their data be erased, The New York Times reports. The rules would also place fewer restrictions on the government, which would be allowed to request anonymized and non-personal data from companies. The latest version of the bill circulated this week. According to Financial Times, it was introduced to India's parliament today.
NASA photos show the crash site of India's Vikram lunar lander
In September India lost contact with its Vikram lander just a mile above the Moon's surface, and now NASA has confirmed photos taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter show where it impacted. The actual discovery, however, has been credited to an amateur, Shanmuga Subramanian. As the New York Times reported, he is an Indian programmer and mechanical engineer who noted subtle differences in before/after mosaic photos back in October. The debris kicked up by the impact was small enough that it's barely recognizable in the orbiter's resolution. According to NASA, the debris Shanmuga found is about 750m from the main crash site. Last week the ISRO said Vikram crashed within 500m of its intended landing point, but didn't release any pictures. The crash was apparently due to a problem with its braking thrusters, although the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft that released it is still operational and orbiting the moon, collecting data.
Nokia-branded smart TVs are coming to India
The Nokia brand name may be synonymous with the indestructible cell phones of the 2000s, but did you know that back in the mid-90s it had a line in widescreen TVs? Nokia's efforts in the TV sphere may never have caught on with mainstream tech enthusiasts back then, but that could be about to change, as the company is now planning on launching a range of smart TVs in India.
Netflix launches its cheaper mobile-only subscription in Malaysia
While Netflix continues to grow, the company sees an opportunity to secure new users by adapting its offerings to meet customers' differing needs. It has recently begun offering more affordable services in international markets, and now it has a new option available in Malaysia for a cheaper, mobile-only subscription to the streaming service.
Google makes Assistant available via a free phone call in India
Getting fast and accurate answers to queries is still a big challenge in places where people don't have reliable access to the internet. To help the hundreds of millions of people in India who have a mobile phone but limited or no internet access, Google has announced the Vodafone-Idea Phone Line, a service which people can call to get answers from Google Assistant.
Motorola is making Android TVs too
Shortly after smartphone company OnePlus launched a TV, rival Motorola has decided to do the same. In partnership with Indian e-commerce site FlipKart, Motorola India unveiled Motorola TV, a range of smart TVs with IPS technology in sizes ranging from 32 to 65 inches. The sets will pack in a lot of tech, including Dolby Vision and HDR 10, while running Android 9.0 and shipping with a wireless Android TV gamepad.
India found its missing Vikram lunar lander
India has located its Vikram lunar lander after losing contact, and the situation isn't looking great. Indian Space and Research Organization chairman K. Sivan said that cameras aboard the orbiter found the spacecraft and believed it had been a "hard landing." There were efforts in progress to contact the lander, Sivan said, although there hadn't been any sign of success as of this writing.
India's Vikram lunar lander lost contact during its descent
Today India attempted to become only the fourth nation to successfully soft-land on the surface of the Moon. That mission appears to have failed, when the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) lost contact with its Vikram lander at an altitude of 2.1km above the lunar surface. The space agency has said only that it is analyzing available data, and that the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft is still in orbit. Indian prime minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address the nation at about 10:30 ET. If the mission is lost, then out of three soft-landing attempts this year it will be the second to go awry. China's Chang'e 4 reached the far side of the Moon in January, while the privately-owned Beresheet lander from Israel crashed in April after sending back one last photograph.
Apple will reportedly start online sales in India
Indians from Ahmedabad to Mumbai will soon be able to shop online for Apple products. The nation's government today announced it would ease rules on local production that limited companies like Apple from doing business in the country. The tech giant will start online sales in India sometime in the next few months, reported Bloomberg.
'World's first' solar-powered rail line opens in the UK
Some trains in the UK are now running on a rail line powered entirely by a solar farm in what's said to be a world first. Around 100 panels are keeping the signaling and lights up and running on the track near Aldershot in Hampshire, and the project could be a precursor to solar-powered trains on the nation's network.
Amazon opens its largest campus to date in India
Amazon has opened its largest campus to date as it cut the ribbon on a building in Hyderabad, India. The subcontinent is one of the company's fastest-growing markets. Its latest campus spreads over 9.5 acres with 1.8 million sq ft of office space giving room for more than 15,000 employees to work there.
After Math: Never stop not watching
I don't know about y'all, but I'm spending this weekend stomping Nazis in the new Wolfenstein title (assuming it ever finished downloading). But if exacting revenge on some of modern history's most notorious villains isn't really your thing, we are still living in the Golden Age of Television -- well, at least technically. We've seemingly traded in our 600 channels for a half dozen individual streaming subscriptions and there's somehow still nothing on but Game of Thrones. Here are some of highlights from Engadget's entertainment coverage this week.
Hitting the Books: Modern surveillance and 'the science of happiness'
Welcome to Hitting the Books. With less than one in five Americans reading just for fun these days, we've done the hard work for you by scouring the internet for the most interesting, thought provoking books on science and technology we can find and delivering an easily digestible nugget of their stories.
Netflix launches $3 mobile-only subscription in India
Netflix may have been in front of the curve when it came to video streaming, but the company has found things a little more difficult in recent months. Price hikes have derailed its growth, meaning it only amassed half of the five million new subscribers it predicted would sign up over the last quarter. With Disney+, Apple TV+ and HBO Max all on the horizon, Netflix is seeking new ways to lure new customers to its platform, including smartphone-only plans, which have officially launched today in India.
Watch India launch a historic Moon mission starting at 5PM ET (updated)
India is on the cusp of making space exploration history in more ways than one, and you might get to watch it first-hand. ISRO is livestreaming the launch of Chandrayaan-2, its second uncrewed mission to the Moon, starting at 5PM Eastern (liftoff is expected at 5:21PM Eastern). The trip is meant to deliver the VIkram lander and Pragyan rover to the Moon, making this India's first soft landing on the lunar surface using its own technology -- only the US, Russia and China have managed this feat so far. It's also the first soft landing attempt for any country at the Moon's South Pole, where Pragyan will study the chemistry, seismography and topography of the celestial body.
Google Maps can warn you if your ride goes off-route
Many ride-hailing passengers are understandably anxious about their vehicles going off-route due to the potential for sexual assault. However, Google hopes it can set minds at ease until there really is cause for worry. It just introduced optional off-route alerts that let Google Maps users on Android know if their ride veers more than 0.5km (about 0.3 miles) from the suggested route. Enable the feature and you'll get a "prominent notification" as well as a view of where you are relative to the suggested path. From there, you can share your live trip details if you want others to be aware or take action.
India tells scooter makers to prepare for a switch to EVs
Indian scooter and motorcycle manufacturers have to draw up a plan to switch to electric vehicles, and they only have two weeks to come up with one. According to Reuters, Indian officials have met up with the companies, including Bajaj Auto and Hero MotoCorp, to ask them to participate in the authorities' electrification efforts.
India plans to launch space station by 2030
India's broadening spaceflight ambitions now include a longer-term presence in Earth's orbit. Indian Space Research Organization chief K Sivan (above) recently revealed plans to launch a space station around 2030. It will be a relatively small station where astronauts would only stay for 15 to 20 days, but that should be enough to allow microgravity experiments. India won't lean on other countries for help, Sivan said.
