Tech for Geeks

Chrome updated for desktop and Android

2012-09-28T11:59:00.001+05:00

Google has recently updated the Chrome browser application on Windows, OS X and Android. The desktop version has introduced the new Mouse Lock API which improves mouse usage in online games. The OS X version also gets improvements for the high resolution systems and the Retina MacBook Pro. The Android version of the update brings support for Intel's mobile x86 architecture.

Play Store achieves 25 million app downloads

2012-09-28T11:53:00.003+05:00

Google's Android platform has a huge user base and due to this, the Play Store recently surpassed the 25 billion downloads mark. To celebrate this, Google is providing app promotions for some of the best-selling apps which will be available for only 25 cents in the promotion. And it's not just apps, Google has also put 25 movies, books, magazines and albums for discounted prices. Here's what Google have said on the topic

Twenty-five billion is more than twice the distance, in miles, that the Voyager 1 spacecraft has travelled since its launch 35 years ago. It’s the amount of time, in minutes, that have passed since some of our earliest ancestors began to set foot in Europe. And now, thanks to all of you, it’s a Google Play milestone. We look forward to the next 25 billion.

Google's Indoor Maps launched in France

2012-09-28T11:46:00.004+05:00

France has recently become the third country in Europe to have the Indoor Maps feature, alongside the UK and Switzerland. The Indoor Maps supports maps for airports, malls and museums in France and brings many novelties with it like information of escalators, ATMs, restrooms, etc. You can also check out what's on offer in the Carrefour supermarkets with this application.

Google Maps Ocean

2012-09-28T11:41:00.001+05:00

Google has partnered with The Catlin Seaview Survey to bring a new feature to its Maps application, i.e. Maps Ocean. This feature allows users to visit underwater places like the Great Barrier Reef and places in the Philippines and Hawaii. This has been made possible by underwater panoramas and the Street View feature (although there's no street there). Currently, there are only six of the famous underwater locations available but more will be added as time passes.

Barnes & Noble announces the Nook HD and Nook HD+

2012-09-28T11:30:00.004+05:00

It seems like Barnes & Noble also want a share in the current fast-growing market for affordable tablets. To do this, they have announced their latest tablets, i.e. the Nook HD and the Nook HD+.

Nook HD

The Nook HD has a 7" display with a resolution of 1440x900 pixels along with a 1.3 GHz processor and 1GB RAM. It has an internal memory storage of 16/32GB which can also be expanded via a microSD card. The battery timing is quoted for upto 10.5 hours of reading or upto 9 hours of video watching.

Nook HD+

The Nook HD+ has a 9" IPS display with a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels along with a 1.5 GHz processor and the same internal memory and microSD slot as the Nook HD. The battery timing of the Nook HD+ is quoted at 10 hours of reading or upto 9 hours of video watching.

Both tablets are running on a modified version of Android Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0 so we might also see some custom ROMs for it. The tablets will release around the end of October but you can also pre-order them here and here.

No Google Maps application for iOS yet

2012-09-28T11:03:00.000+05:00

After the recent incident of the faulty Maps application on iOS 6, there were rumors suggesting that Google was already working on a stand-alone application for iOS and that it would be released soon. However, this doesn't seem to be the case. Reuters have recently quoted Eric Schmidt saying that

We think it would have been better if they had kept ours. But what do I know? What were we going to do, force them not to change their mind? It’s their call.

He has also said that Google has not submitted any application to the App Store for approval and that he would leave Apple to decide whether they want the application or not.
It seems that users who have updated to iOS 6 or have purchased the recently released iPhone 5 still have to make do with the faulty application and pray that Apple fix this soon or provide an alternate application.

Chrome update for iOS

2012-09-28T10:56:00.000+05:00

Google have updated their Chrome application on the iOS which brings full-screen support for the iPhone 5. This update also fixes a Gmail bug and the app is now supported on iOS 6 devices as well. You can get the update for your device from the App Store. The version number for this update is 21.0.1180.82.

Play Books update available on Android

2012-09-28T10:51:00.000+05:00

The folks at Google have recently updated their Play Books application on the Android OS. The update brings many new features such as Text Highlighting, Notes taking, Built-in Dictionary support, Translation, Sliding page-turn animation, etc. Many users have already updated to the latest version, so those who haven't should really give it a go.

Asha 308 & 309 announced by Nokia

2012-09-28T10:47:00.000+05:00

Nokia have announced the Asha 308 and the Asha 309. Both of them are budget touchscreen phones for users who don't want to spend too much on a phone. The specs include a 3.0" screen, 2MP camera, FM radio and a microSD card slot with support upto 32GB storage cards. The difference between the two phones is that the Asha 308 is a dual-SIM phone whereas the Asha 309 is a single SIM phone with Wi-Fi connectivity. Both phones are expected to ship sometime in Q4 of 2012 so we might see them soon.

Samsung's list of Jelly Bean ready devices

2012-09-28T10:39:00.000+05:00

After recently updating the Samsung Galaxy S III to the latest Android version, a.k.a. Jelly Bean, Samsung have issued a full list of devices which will also have a taste of this update. The list of devices goes as:

Galaxy S II
Galaxy S II LTE
Galaxy S Advance
Galaxy Beam
Galaxy S Duos
Galaxy Ace Plus
Galaxy Ace 2
Galaxy Note
Galaxy Note 10.1
Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus
Galaxy Tab 2 7.0
Galaxy Tab 2 10.1
Galaxy Chat
Galaxy Mini II
Galaxy Music

The release dates for the devices in this list haven't been mentioned as of yet but the updates might start soon.

Martian Pink Galaxy S3 available in South Korea

2012-09-28T00:55:00.001+05:00

Most of you might remember the Pink version of Samsung Galaxy S II was launched earlier when it was the latest flagship phone. This phone was meant to target the female customers to bring them closer to the smartphone market. Keeping in line with this trend, Samsung have now released the Martian Pink version of the current flagship, the Galaxy S III, in South Korea. It is available only in 32GB version. The International market might also get this phone soon but no current launch date has been specified.

Pantech Vega R3 available in South Korea

2012-09-28T00:49:00.001+05:00

The Pantech Vega R3 is a phone-tablet cross that aims to compete head on with the Samsung Galaxy Note II and the LG Optimus Vu II. By looking at its specs, it seems it will do so without much hassle. The Pantech Vega R3 runs on the latest Snapdragon S4 chipset, which basically means 1.5 GHz Quad-core processor, 2GB RAM and an Adreno 320 GPU. The rest of the specs are:

5.3" Natural IPS Pro LCD with 1280x720 resolution
2,600 mAH battery with talk-time upto 14 hours and 30 minutes
A 2 port charger, which allows simultaneous charging of the phone and a spare battery
13MP back camera
LTE, NFC, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0
Android 4.0.4 out of the box with Jelly Bean update to come later
Oh yeah, a micro-sd card slot too for extra storage

The Pantech Vega R3 is available through the 3 carriers in South Korea and interested users should check it out as it looks to be a promising device.

Release date for HTC Windows Phone 8X

2012-09-28T00:38:00.001+05:00

HTC recently announced their latest Windows Phone 8 flagship at an event last week and now it seems that Amazon UK have already got the phone up for pre-order on their website. The SIM-free version of this phone is available on Amazon UK and the suggested release date is 8th November, 2012. For those who want to check it out, click here.

New UI for Blackberry 10

2012-09-28T00:30:00.000+05:00

Recently at a special event, the guys at RIM showed off the latest UI for Blackberry 10 which will make it to the final version of the OS. This UI has some really nice features and aims to bring a new feel by using gestures in its own way. Guys from TheVerge were present at the event and they made a video showing off the new UI of Blackberry 10. You can check it out in the video below.

ICS update for Sony Xperia Ion AT&T

2012-09-28T00:21:00.001+05:00

At long last, Sony has released the Android Ice Cream Sandwich update for the Xperia Ion units on contract with AT&T. The update brings many new features to the phone as it is a major improvement from Gingerbread. The update is directly available for download by Sony over here.

100 million installs for iOS 6

2012-09-25T19:23:00.000+05:00

It looks like Apple are on a roll with the iPhone 5 and iOS 6. The iPhone sold more than 5 million units in 3 days and now Apple has issued a press release which states that the iOS 6 update is already running on more than 100 million devices other than the iPhone 5 units, which come pre-installed with iOS 6. Just for the sake of information, the iOS 6 update is available for iPhones 3GS, 4 and 4S, iPads 2 and 3, iPods Touch 4 and 5. If you are an iOS 6 user and haven't already updated your device, i suggest you do it as the update comes with a lot of improvements (albeit the Apple Maps which are currently unusable in most parts of the world).

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean for Samsung Galaxy S III

2012-09-25T19:15:00.000+05:00

The wait is finally over for the owners of Samsung Galaxy S III. Samsung have now officially released the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update for the owners of the current Samsung flagship phone. The update has started from Poland and will make its way to the users in the rest of Europe soon. This update brings many new features of the latest Android version such as Google Now, Project Butter, improved interaction with notifications, etc. The update can be obtained using KIES or by downloading it OTA on Wi-Fi. The official recommendation for battery charge by Samsung is at least 50% for the update to successfully apply. The owners of Samsung Galaxy S II still have to wait as the update for their phones is set to release some time around October-November.

LG Optimus Vu II rumored specs

2012-09-25T19:07:00.002+05:00

Most people know about the LG Optimus Vu. It is phone-tablet cross by LG that was launched to compete with Samsung's Galaxy Note. Now it seems that LG are working on a successor to the original Vu. The currently rumored specs suggest a 1.5 GHz dual-core CPU, 2 GB RAM, 5 inch screen with 1024x768 resolution, 2150 mAH battery and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. If these specs are true, it doesn't look like the LG Optimus Vu II is going to be able to compete head-on with the Samsung Galaxy Note II.

5 million iPhone 5 units sold in first 3 days

2012-09-25T18:56:00.001+05:00

With the recent launch of Apple's latest flagship phone, the iPhone 5, many analysts suggested that sales will be in huge numbers. Well, they were right. The iPhone 5 has sold more than 5 million units in the first 3 days of its launch. If you compare this to the previous 2 iPhones, the iPhone 4S sold about 4 million units in the first weekend after launch and the iPhone 4 sold about 1.7 million units in the first weekend of its launch. Back to the iPhone 5, the numbers of its sales are so huge that many pre-orders will get delayed to October so those people still have quite some time before they can get their hands on their new devices.

Nokia Asha 309 for China

2012-09-25T18:49:00.000+05:00

As the Nokia Asha 306 is still on its way to China, another phone has also been rumored to come along with it. The Nokia Asha 309 is a phone which doesn't seem to have much differences from the Asha 306. It seems, as the rumor suggests, that both phones will be launching together in China tomorrow. Let's see if this turns out to be true.

Xperia T available in UK and Germany

2012-09-25T18:43:00.000+05:00

Sony's latest flagship phone, the Xperia T, is now available for purchase in UK and Germany.
In UK, the phone is available via the Carphone Warehouse, with contracts available with O2, Orange and Vodafone.
In Germany, the current option is only via contract with O2.
Ireland is also set to get the phone soon but not before next week.

iPhone 5 devices stolen in Japan

2012-09-22T22:43:00.003+05:00

It looks like the iPhone 5 is such a hotly anticipated device that some people in Japan just couldn't wait for its official release. Three stores were hit in one night with a total of 191 iPhone 5 units being stolen. The total reported loss is around 7.45 million yen or $100,000. The security camera footage of one of the stores shows that this was done by a group of 3 people. It still remains to be seen if the police will be successful in catching the robbers as there is no update on that yet.

Google Maps for iOS 6

2012-09-22T22:20:00.000+05:00

Since releasing iOS 6 to its users, Apple decided to forfeit the use of Google Maps as the default maps service for its mobile platform. Apple is now using its own maps application which gathers its map data from Tom-Tom. But since its public release, quite a number of users are not happy with this change. Reports of inaccurate map data to locations with totally no map data at all have come to light. Many users now want the old Google Maps application back for their daily use.
Well, as rumors suggest, it seems that Google is already about to release its native Google Maps application for iOS users which will be available for download through the App Store. There is no currently announced release date but let's hope this is true and Google releases it soon.

Nokia Lumia 510

2012-09-22T22:05:00.001+05:00

Microsoft's Windows Phone platform is shaping to be a worthy competitor to the likes of Android and iOS. With the latest Windows Phone 8, Microsoft and its partners are looking to sell a greater number of devices than the ones with Windows Phone 7 and 7.5. Some older devices might even get an update to Windows Phone 7.8, which is said to have some important features from Windows Phone 8 so the owners of such phones won't get left behind.
One of the few devices that will launch with Windows Phone 7.8 out of the box is the Nokia Lumia 510. This phone is intended for the Chinese market and is supposed to be a budget Windows Phone device. Some of the rumored specs are a 4" display, 800 MHz processor, 256 MB of RAM and a 5MP camera. Who knows, this device might even make it to the International market. We'll just have to wait and see.

Hey people, I'm back !!

2012-09-21T00:23:00.000+05:00

After what seems a really really long time, I'm back on my blog. I had left blogging for quite some time because I was busy in my studies, exams, assignments and what not. So recently I decided that I should try to find some time in my daily life because I still love technology and stuff. And well, I'm back and now I hope to keep this blog as much updated as possible. Thanks to all the readers and followers who read my blog and kept visiting even though there weren't any new posts. I'm going to update this blog on a regular basis from now on and I hope you guys enjoy reading it once again. Cheers !!

P.S. I have now linked my blog with my Google+ account so you can add me to your circles there, comment on my posts or just share them if you like. :)