Google launches AI-powered flood alerts to save lives in India

Google

• Google has launched AI-powered flood alerts in India.
• The company is running “hundreds of thousands” of simulations in order to produce more accurate alerts.
• The search firm intends to bring AI-powered flood alerts to other countries as well.

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AI is arguably overhyped on smartphones, but it’s undoubtedly changing the world around us in numerous ways. Google is proving this with the launch of AI-powered flood alerts in India.

The feature uses computational power to deliver more accurate flood warnings, Google noted in a blog post. A ton of other information is fed into Google’s models too, such as historical events, water level readings, and the region’s topography.

The Mountain View company says it then runs “hundreds of thousands” of simulations for a location. From these simulations, it’s able to gauge when and where a flood will occur, and the severity of the event.

A conventional flood simulation in India (L) versus Google’s AI-powered simulation. Google

Google is already using the technology to power flood warnings in the Patna region of India. The company is hoping to bring AI-powered flood alerts to other countries as well, but it didn’t give a timeline for availability.

This could be one of the best uses yet for AI technology, as it has the potential to help governments effectively allocate resources and plan accordingly. The technology might be a life-saver for other natural disasters too, such as tsunamis, drought and wildfires.

In fact, Japan’s Fujitsu has already been testing the use of AI to predict tsunamis in the city of Kawasaki. Meanwhile, two students in the U.S. are using Google’s TensorFlow machine learning framework to predict wildfires in the country.

Can you think of any other innovative uses for AI? Let us know in the comments below.

NEXT: Motorola celebrates 90 years with heavy discounts on lots of products

Source: Android Zone

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Samsung Galaxy J6 Plus revealed with a side-mounted fingerprint sensor

• Samsung just officially revealed the Samsung Galaxy J6 Plus, which has a side-mounted fingerprint sensor.
• Samsung also revealed the Samsung Galaxy J4 Plus, which relies solely on face unlock technology.
• Both devices will fall into the budget category, with a focus on the Indian market.

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Samsung posted some promotional material for the Samsung Galaxy J6 Plus and Samsung Galaxy J4 Plus a few days ago, but now we have official images of both budget-minded devices. Unsurprisingly, the Samsung Galaxy J6 Plus comes with a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, which we expected.

However, the cheaper Samsung Galaxy J4 Plus doesn’t have the side-mounted fingerprint sensor. Instead, the J4 Plus will rely only on face unlock technology as its biometric security.

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Samsung didn’t reveal pricing, availability, or global locations for the devices, but we can assume from prior Galaxy J launches that the phones will be prominent in India and probably cost somewhere in the range of 15,000 Rs. to 22,000 Rs. (~$208 to ~$305). Until we get final word though, that should all be taken as rumor.

The J4 Plus and J6 Plus are very similar devices, although the J6 Plus is the undoubtedly the higher-end model. They come in various colors, with the Galaxy J4 Plus coming in black, gold, and pink (below left) and the J6 Plus coming in black, grey, and red (below right):

As you can see, the J6 Plus features a dual rear camera setup while the J4 Plus only features a single rear sensor. One the front, both devices feature single front-facing lenses for selfie shots.

Both phones have 6-inch 18.5:9 displays with HD Plus resolution. They are both powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor and have 3,300mAh batteries.

However, the Galaxy J6 Plus comes with either 3GB or 4GB of RAM while the J4 Plus only comes with either 2GB or 3GB. The J6 Plus has either 32GB or 64GB of internal storage while the J4 Plus comes in either 16GB or 32GB variants. Although the devices might look similar on the outside, the J6 Plus is definitely the better model.

Both devices also feature microSD slots and dual SIM card slots:

Samsung will likely announce when and where you’ll be able to get the Galaxy J6 Plus and Galaxy J4 Plus soon, as well as how much you’ll pay for them. Until then, stay tuned!

NEXT: Rumor: Samsung could drop the Galaxy J line completely

Source: Android Zone

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Mastercard has secret contract to supply Google with offline transaction records

• A previously-unknown Mastercard-Google agreement was just exposed by Bloomberg.
• The agreement gives Google a way to connect online advertisements to offline sales in physical stores.
• Both Google and Mastercard declined to give statements specifically related to this previously-unknown contract.

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You can rest assured that when Google shows you an ad, it knows if you make an online purchase related to that ad. But what if you physically go to a store and buy a product because of an online advertisement?

Well, it turns out that Google knows about at least some of those as well. We know this now because Bloomberg just exposed a secret Mastercard-Google contract which gives the search giant access to the offline transaction records of a portion of Mastercard’s two billion customers.

While the contract itself isn’t that surprising, the fact that both Google and Mastercard kept the agreement a secret from the public is a little concerning.

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According to three anonymous people who worked directly on the deal, Google and Mastercard negotiated the contract over the span of about four years. Although an exact amount wasn’t disclosed, it’s alleged that Google paid Mastercard millions of dollars for the customer data. The two companies also discussed sharing profits from ad revenue related to the data, although Google denied this was the case.

Google did make a statement on the security of the advertising tool related to the contract, but neglected to directly discuss the Mastercard partnership:

“Before we launched this beta product last year, we built a new, double-blind encryption technology that prevents both Google and our partners from viewing our respective users’ personally identifiable information. We do not have access to any personal information from our partners’ credit and debit cards, nor do we share any personal information with our partners.”

The encryption technology Google is referencing enables the tracking of data and connecting it to a user’s profile, but then sharing that data anonymously with advertisers and Google. In other words, it goes like this:

1. Online shopper views and clicks an ad for a Samsung smartphone. The shopper doesn’t buy anything.
2. Sometime later (within 30 days of the ad-click), the user enters a physical store and buys a Samsung smartphone with their Mastercard.
3. The advertiser (in this case, Samsung) is fed a report that shows that an ad-click led to a sale at a physical store. Samsung and Google do not know any info about who made the purchase, how much was spent, or when, just that the same user who clicked an ad went out to buy a product.

Google emphasized in its statement that users can opt-out of ad-tracking at any time; however, the fact that no one knew this was happening makes that advice a little disingenuous.

A Mastercard spokesperson also declined to comment on the Google partnership directly but pointed out that Mastercard often shares transaction history with merchants and service providers.

According to anonymous tipsters speaking with Bloomberg, Google has had discussions with other credit card companies about partnerships, and ad agencies have approached Google about tracking even more offline information about customers, such as the time of the transactions and how much was spent.

NEXT: Google’s digital payment app for India, Tez, is now Google Pay

Source: Android Zone

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Deal: Get a Galaxy S9 Plus with a Chromebook 3 for less than the cost of a Note 9

Samsung launched the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 yesterday, and it looks to be an amazing piece of hardware. But that amazing hardware comes at an incredibly steep price: $999 for the base model with 128GB of storage and 6GB of RAM, or a whopping $1,249 for the 512GB/8GB model. Ouch.

I don’t know about you, but that’s too rich for my blood.

Luckily there’s a deal running right now that is a whole lot better than buying a Note 9: this Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus deal at Amazon gets you a free Chromebook with purchase.

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That’s right: you’re going to get a brand new Samsung flagship along with a brand new Samsung laptop for over $100 less than you’d pay for a base model Note 9.

Here’s how the deal works: you choose between a Samsung Galaxy S9 or Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus, then choose your preferred color, and then you get a free Chromebook 3 (with 4GB of RAM and 16GB of storage) when you complete your purchase. Easy.

Here are pricing details for the various options:

• Samsung Galaxy S9 in black, blue or purple + Chromebook 3 — $720, with free Prime shipping
• Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus in black, blue or purple + Chromebook 3 — $840, with free Prime shipping

I know what you’re thinking: you don’t need a Samsung Chromebook 3. Well, guess what? Christmas is right around the corner, and this would make an amazing gift. Or you could always sell the Chromebook on eBay (you’d likely get at least $175 for it). Either way, it’s a win.

Click the button below to take advantage of this deal — I don’t know how long it will last!

Galaxy s9 + chromebook deal

Source: Android Zone

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Google Pixel 2 international giveaway!

Welcome to the Sunday Giveaway, the place where we giveaway a new Android phone each and every Sunday.

A big congratulations to last week’s winners of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8/Pisen international giveaway: Stephane R. (Canada), Wayne C. (Canada), and James K. (USA)

This week we are giving away a brand new Google Pixel 2, courtesy of MNML Case!

If you’re constantly dropping your phone or want to protect it from everyday nicks and scratches, MNML Case has you covered. With its wide range of ultra-slim cases measuring just .35 mm thin (no, that’s not a typo), these MNML cases allow you to showcase the beauty of your new phone.

Check out MNML’s new line of Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL cases!

Google’s 2017 flagship phones are finally here, and they’re great. Both the Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL feature top-of-the-line specs, IP67 ratings for dust and water resistance (finally), as well as the best smartphone cameras on the market, according to DxOMark. They also include Google Lens, feature those fun AR Stickers, and will also come with three full years of OS updates. More specifically, the Pixel 2 sports a 5.0-inch OLED display and a 2,700 mAh battery, but other than that, these two phones are pretty much identical.

To learn more about the Google Pixel 2, check out our related coverage below:

• Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL review: the way Android is meant to be
• The best Google Pixel 2 cases you can buy
• Google Pixel 2 or Pixel 2 XL: which is right for you?
• Google Pixel 2 XL unboxing and first impressions
• Google Pixel 2 vs Samsung Galaxy Note 8: the flagship battle
• Google Pixel 2 vs Google Pixel: what’s changed?
• Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL specs: Google’s vision for the modern flagship

Enter the giveaway here

Google Pixel 2 international giveaway

Don’t miss: Best Android phone (February 2017) giveaway

Winners gallery

Terms & Conditions

• This is an international giveaway (except when we can not ship to your country.)
• If we can not ship to your country, you will be compensated with an online gift card of equal MSRP value to the prize.
• We are not responsible for lost shipments.
• We are not responsible if your giveaway prize malfunctions.
• You must be age of majority in your country of residence.
• We are not responsible for any duties or import fees that you may incur.
• Only one entry per person; please do not enter multiple email addresses. We will verify all winners and if we detect multiple email addresses by the same person you will not be eligible to win.
• We reserve all rights to make any changes to this giveaway.
• This giveaway is operated by Android Authority.
• The prize will ship when it is available to purchase.

Source: Android Zone

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