Tech PIVI

The AI Revolution in 2023: Transforming Industries and Empowering Humanity

2023-06-02T10:57:00.011+05:30

The year 2023 has marked a significant milestone in the advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI). From transforming industries to reshaping the way we live, AI has become an integral part of our daily lives, opening up new possibilities and empowering humanity in ways we couldn't have imagined before. In this blog, we will explore the profound impact of the AI revolution in 2023 and how it has revolutionized various sectors.

AI in Healthcare:

AI has made remarkable strides in the healthcare industry, revolutionizing patient care, diagnostics, and drug discovery. In 2023, AI-powered medical systems have become more accurate, enabling early disease detection and personalized treatment plans. Machine learning algorithms have enhanced medical imaging, allowing for precise diagnosis and reducing human error. AI-driven virtual assistants are now capable of answering patient queries and providing basic healthcare information, thus relieving the burden on healthcare professionals.

AI in Transportation:

Transportation has undergone a significant transformation with the integration of AI technologies. Self-driving cars, once a distant dream, are now a reality. In 2023, autonomous vehicles equipped with AI algorithms have become safer and more efficient, reducing traffic congestion and accidents. AI-powered algorithms optimize routes, predicting traffic patterns and suggesting alternate paths in real-time. Additionally, AI is enhancing logistics and supply chain management, streamlining operations and reducing costs.

AI in Finance:

The financial sector has experienced a profound impact from AI in 2023. AI-powered algorithms analyze vast amounts of financial data, improving fraud detection, risk assessment, and investment strategies. Chatbots equipped with natural language processing (NLP) algorithms provide personalized customer support, enhancing user experiences. AI-driven robo-advisors assist individuals in making smart investment decisions based on their financial goals and risk appetite.

AI in Education:

AI has also revolutionized the field of education, offering personalized learning experiences and improving educational outcomes. Intelligent tutoring systems leverage AI to adapt to individual students' needs, providing tailored content and feedback. AI-powered language learning applications enhance language acquisition by employing speech recognition and natural language processing techniques. Furthermore, AI chatbots are being used to provide instant support and guidance to students, making education more accessible and engaging.

AI in Sustainability:

In 2023, AI has emerged as a powerful tool for addressing environmental challenges and promoting sustainability. AI algorithms are employed to optimize energy consumption, manage waste, and reduce carbon emissions. Smart grid systems powered by AI ensure efficient distribution of electricity, balancing demand and supply. AI-driven models enable accurate climate predictions, aiding in disaster management and proactive planning for climate change mitigation.

Conclusion:

The AI revolution in 2023 has ushered in a new era of innovation and transformation across industries. From healthcare and transportation to finance, education, and sustainability, AI has become an indispensable force driving progress and empowering humanity. While there are challenges and ethical considerations associated with AI, the potential benefits it offers in terms of efficiency, accuracy, and improved quality of life are undeniable. As we continue to embrace AI, it is crucial to strike a balance between technological advancements and the ethical implications to ensure a future where AI serves as a tool for the betterment of humanity.

Xbox One review

2013-12-02T22:44:00.003+05:30

What is the Xbox One?

If you're a video-game aficionado, you know the answer: It's Microsoft's latest game console, and it arrives in North America and Europe on Friday. To gamers, Xbox means cutting-edge adventures such as "Halo" and "Gears of War," and well as the brand that brought online competition to the masses through Xbox Live.

But Microsoft wants you to think of Xbox One as more than a game machine. You can use it to watch movies on Netflix and Hulu Plus. You can hook it up to your cable box to watch live TV. You can Skype your grandma and share family photos through the SkyDrive storage service.

Still, if you're considering buying an Xbox One this week, you probably have one thing in mind: games.

The Xbox One is a chunky black box that's a little larger than its predecessor, the Xbox 360. It arrives with a respectable library of 22 titles, all sold separately. By and large, they look just as pretty as their counterparts on Sony's PlayStation 4, which came out last week.

Both the Xbox One and the PS4 are state-of-the-art game machines, and for some, the difference will come down to price. At $500, the Xbox One costs $100 more.

The most significant distinction between the two is the re-engineered Kinect camera that's packaged with every Xbox. Like the one for its Xbox 360 predecessor, it lets you use voice commands and gestures to navigate on-screen menus and some apps, but it's much more precise and responsive than before. On the PS4, a similar camera sells for $60, but Sony's pitching it as an accessory rather than an essential part of the experience.

Setting up the Xbox was easy. You connect the Kinect to the Xbox and the Xbox to the TV. You sign in or create a free Microsoft account, download some software updates and calibrate the Kinect. Despite earlier threats that the console would need to be always connected to the Internet, Microsoft now says constant connection isn't necessary after the initial setup.

On-screen menus are simpler and less cluttered than the Xbox 360's.

The "Home" section is dominated by a large image of your most recently opened game or app. Smaller icons show the four apps you used before that. To the left is your user profile. To the right are links to available games and Xbox Live recommendations.

The most innovative button on the Home page is called "Snap." It lets you shift one app to the upper right corner of the screen while using another app. For example, I played "Forza Motorsport 5" on the main screen while a live broadcast of a college football game ran in the Snap window. If the gridiron action got interesting, I could quickly switch it to the main display.

The other main sections of the user interface are "Pins," where you can arrange icons for your favorite apps, and "Store," where you can buy new games, movies and music.

The entire interface can be navigated by voice command with the Kinect. To watch live TV, for example, you say, "Xbox, watch TV." To play a game like "Killer Instinct," you say, "Xbox, go to 'Killer Instinct.'"

After a few hours, I got pretty good at getting the machine to follow my orders. As a longtime Xbox user, however, I still found it easier and more intuitive to use the Xbox One's handheld controller, which looks and feels similar to previous Xbox controllers.

You can also navigate the on-screen menus using Xbox SmartGlass, a free app for iOS, Android or Windows 8 devices, including Microsoft's Surface tablet. If you're in the middle of a game, SmartGlass can display additional instructions or the Achievements you've earned. It's far from essential, but it could be interesting to see what developers do with that second screen.

The Xbox One uses custom-designed chips from Advanced Micro Devices Inc. It cannot play games for the Xbox 360, but Xbox One owners probably will want only state-of-the-art titles anyway. After initially threatening a digital-rights scheme that would have blocked games previously played on other Xbox Ones, Microsoft reversed course and now says you'll be able to buy, sell and trade used games as much as you want.

Microsoft promises eight times the graphical performance of the Xbox 360. The images in the games I tried are on par with the PS4's - as detailed and realistic as anything yet produced by a living-room console.

"Forza Motorsport 5," the latest auto racing simulator from Microsoft's Turn 10 Studios, takes full advantage of the Xbox One's graphic oomph. You can see the attention to detail in every car. From the driver's seat, you can read every instrument on the dashboard. The beauty extends to the gorgeous environments, from the Bernese Alps to the streets of Prague to famous racetracks like the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

"Ryse: Son of Rome," an original adventure from the German studio Crytek, revels in the glory of ancient Athens. But gamers are more likely to be stunned by its copious gore, as centurions hack and slash their way through hordes of barbarian invaders.

"Ryse" tries to incorporate voice commands as well. At times, you're expected to orally order your legions to charge the enemy or block incoming attacks. But you can accomplish the same things by pressing buttons, which I resorted to after the troops ignored my shouts a few times.

And therein lies the test for Microsoft's Kinect-centric strategy. I've been using the Kinect to explore the Xbox One's menus - but when I'm immersed in a game, it feels more like a gimmick.

However you decide to control it, though, the Xbox One is a versatile, powerful machine that should be able to deliver inventive high-definition games for a long time. Between it and the PlayStation 4, the new generation of gaming is off to a roaring start.

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Courtesy : gadgets.ndtv.com

iPad Air, iPad mini with Retina display to be available in India starting December 7

2013-12-02T22:38:00.000+05:30

iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display will be available in India starting December 7, Apple's authorised distribution partner Ingram Micro has announced via a press release.

The distributor also confirmed that 16GB Wi-Fi iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display will be available for Rs. 35,900 and Rs. 28,900 and respectively. These prices are in line with what we had exclusively revealed around 3 weeks back.

According to the information we received earlier, but not announced by the distributor yet, the 32GB, 64GB and 128GB iPad Air Wi-Fi only models will be priced at Rs. 42,900, Rs. 49,900 and Rs. 56,900 respectively. The 16GB iPad Air with cellular connectivity will be priced at Rs. 44,900. The 32GB, 64GB and 128GB models will be priced at Rs. 51,900, Rs. 58,900 and Rs. 65,900 respectively.

Similarly, the 32GB, 64GB and 128GB iPad mini with Retina display Wi-Fi only models will be priced at Rs. 35,900, Rs. 42,900 and Rs. 49,900 respectively. The 16GB iPad mini with Retina display and cellular connectivity will be priced at Rs. 37,900. The 32GB, 64GB and 128GB models will be priced at Rs. 44,900, Rs. 51,900 and Rs. 58,900 respectively.

Apple will continue to sell the 16GB iPad mini without Retina display for Rs. 21,900 for the Wi-Fi version. However, the cellular model is expected to get a price bump from Rs. 29,900 to Rs. 30,900. The iPad 16GB iPad 2 will continue to sell for Rs. 28,900 and Rs. 37,900 for the Wi-Fi and cellular models respectively.

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Courtesy : gadgets.ndtv.com

Micromax Canvas Turbo review

2013-11-30T20:28:00.001+05:30

The Micromax Canvas Turbo (A250) is the company's first smartphone to feature a full-HD display. The Indian handset giant is backing the smartphone's launch with a high-level marketing campaign, featuring Hollywood actor Hugh Jackman, to make sure it doesn't go unnoticed. There's also a major shift in terms of the build of the phone and in some other attributes.

Will the Canvas Turbo put Micromax in the league of A-list players, with all the new features and a big marketing push? We try to find out in our review.

Build/ Design
From a distance, the Micromax Canvas Turbo looks like any random Android smartphone from the company, however, on closer inspection we realised that we'd seen the same design on the Canvas Doodle 2, Micromax's other big screen smartphone. The construction of the phone is better than the Canvas 4 and Canvas HD, and it even feels more compact. The phone sports rounded edges. It's available in Pristine White and Midnight Blue colour variants and we received a Midnight Blue one as our review unit.

The front of the Canvas Turbo features a 5-inch full-HD display, three capacitive touch buttons for navigation below it, and the earpiece, front camera, notification LED and the sensor array above it.

The frame along the Canvas Turbo's edges appears to made of plastic and features the Power / Screen lock key and the Volume rocker key at the right hand side, and two micro-SIM trays at the left side. The Micro-USB port sits at the top edge of the phone, while the 3.5mm headset jack is located at the bottom edge.

The back of the Canvas Turbo is dominated by a non-removable aluminium cover which is flanked by two plastic strips at the top and bottom. The top strip also houses the 13-megapixel camera lens that protrudes out a little, and a big LED flash.

The bottom strip houses the speaker grill of the phone. There's some Micromax branding at the middle of the Canvas Turbo in the form of a logo.

Just like the Canvas Doodle 2, the Canvas Turbo also does not feature any removable parts, so you won't be able to replace the battery on your own.

Overall, the build quality of the Micromax Canvas Turbo can be considered the best among all other Micromax smartphones. The phone is well-built, exudes a feeling of durability and feels nice to hold. Despite sporting a 5-inch display, the phone is perfect for one-hand use.

Display
The Micromax Canvas Turbo comes with a 5-inch full-HD CGS (Continuous Grain Silicon) IPS display with 1080x1920 pixels resolution and pixel density of 440ppi.

The full-HD screen is one of the phone's headline features, and thanks to that text and images looked crisp and sharp but we were not very impressed with the display's colour reproduction, specially how it displayed blacks. The Canvas Turbo's screen also looked a bit dull, and brightness levels were below par if you compare it with full-HD phones like the Gionee Elife E6.

The display offers decent viewing angles and good sunlight legibility however. Overall, we expected the Canvas Turbo's to offer a better display, and despite being full-HD, it disappoints.

Camera
The Micromax Canvas Turbo sports a 13-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front facing camera. Micromax offers its own camera app that includes Normal, HDR, Smile detection, Panorama and Scene detection shot modes. It also offers a burst mode, letting users click up to 99 shots at once, in addition to GIF Animation, 3D Panorama and Remove Object modes.

The photo mode allows you to modify settings like Exposure, colour effect, ISO and white balance, among others. There's a self timer of up to 10 seconds and a Zero shutter delay setting, as well.

In our use, we found the camera of the Canvas Turbo to be a bit off in terms of white balance and it softened the tone to a cooler shade. Images clicked with the phone's rear camera lacked warmth and at times looked very bland. Images taken during the day were still passable but the ones taken in indoor light appeared totally different from the prevailing ambient light conditions.

The Canvas Turbo's camera also failed to take good quality images in low-light conditions.

The camera app on the Canvas Turbo features an animated GIF mode captures an image and allows you to select portions to animate with your fingers, while the Remove Object mode allows you to erase objects after capturing an image. Both the modes did not return satisfactory results.

The camera is capable of recording full-HD video and takes good quality videos depending on the ambient light. However, the Canvas Turbo saves video clips in .3GP file format, which is an older file format.

The 5-megapixel front camera on the Canvas Turbo takes decent quality pictures, and can be used for video conferencing.

Overall, the cameras on the Canvas Turbo are strictly average for a phone in this segment.

Software/ User Interface
The Micromax Canvas Turbo runs Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean, which is a very recent version of the OS and comes with some skinned elements of the UI like the app icons.

Micromax's custom UI layer is not as radical as HTC's Sense UI or Samsung's TouchWiz UI, but does add some customisation and third party apps. The Canvas Turbo has also been given four preloaded themes, namely Mint, Mocha, Raspberry and the default theme that bring minor changes in the phone's colour scheme.

The notification tray on the Canvas Turbo features a settings shortcut and a clear-all notifications button, along with expandable notifications (expanded with the two-finger pull gesture). It features the same setting toggles shortcut that's found in stock Android and adds some of its own as well, for quick access to Airplane Mode, Battery status, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, Data connection, Data usage, User (audio) Profiles, Brightness, Screen backlight timeout and Auto rotation.

Similar to most other Android devices, there are five customisable home screens on the Canvas Turbo's UI that can be filled with app shortcuts and widgets. The three capacitive buttons, Home, Menu and Back help in navigating through the phone, with the Home button also doubling up as an app switcher on long press.

You also get lock-screen widgets on the Canvas Turbo - an Android 4.2 feature. You can choose from the Clock, Camera, Gmail, Google Now and Messaging widgets in addition to widgets offered by third-party apps installed on your phone. These widgets offer 'glance-able' information from the apps and allow users to perform certain app actions even when the phone is locked.

The phone also offers another Android 4.2 feature, Daydream, that displays photo albums or the clock while the phone's charging. The option to wirelessly mirror the Canvas Tubro's display with an HDMI enabled device through a wireless display adapter is also present.

Just like the Micromax Canvas 4, the Canvas Turbo also features some software tricks, including a new lock screen mechanism that allows the phone to be unlocked with a blow of air or if the phone is shaken. This can be activated through the M! Unlock app that has been developed in partnership with FoneClay. It works as promised but disables the lock screen widgets, so we just feel it's too gimmicky. It's not enabled by default.

In addition to other features the Canvas Turbo also includes an iFloat Tray, a circular assistive button that stays on the screen and offers shortcuts for launching the Phone, SMS, Video Player and Browser apps in floating mode for easier multitasking. For instance you can read and reply to an SMS while using another app, without switching to the SMS app through its floating app.

The Canvas Turbo also offers FM radio and FM radio recording. The phone also offers gestures like flip to silent, ability to answer the phone by bringing it near to the ear, and dial the number on the screen when the user brings the phone near the face.

Micromax has replaced its own instant messaging app, HookUp with a Micromax-branded version of Hike, the mobile messaging app from Bharti Softbank. It has also pre-installed the movie streaming app Spuul, that allows users to watch movies for free.

Performance
The Micromax A250 Canvas Turbo is powered by a 1.5GHz MediaTek MT6589T quad-core processor with 2GB RAM onboard, and PowerVR SGX544MP GPU. There is 16GB of internal storage, 13.4GB of which is available to the user.

With Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, the overall experience of navigation through the interface was pleasant, thanks to the phone's quad-core processor. We did not experience any lag while launching apps, playing games, scrolling web pages or switching between apps. It is safe to say that performance wise, the Canvas Turbo scores well. We were able to play games like Jetpack Joyride, Subway Surfers, without encountering any lag. However, graphics intensive games like Asphalt 7 did not run smoothly on the phone.

We were also able to play full-HD clips on the Canvas Turbo, with the phone supporting formats like .AVI, natively, though we experienced some issues with audio while playing an MKV format video. This was easily fixed by downloading a third-party video player. The speaker on the phone delivers average quality sound at high volume levels, but there's some minor muffle when the phone lies on its back, as the speaker grill is located on that side. The headphones that come with the phone offer average quality sound output. Call quality was good, during our testing process.

The Canvas Turbo comes with a 2,000mAh battery, and based on our experience, it will last you a full day. With medium to heavy usage, including 1-1.5 hours of phone calls, two e-mail accounts with push notifications, screen at maximum brightness, playing some music and video clips (about an hour), casual web browsing, Twitter notifications and WhatsApp chats, the phone lasted 8-9 hours. We had put the phone on Wi-Fi for about a few hours while the rest of the day it was connected to data via 3G. We had turned off auto-brightness, and the phone was on the highest level of brightness. Altering these settings might help in running the phone for a longer duration, depending on your usage pattern.

Verdict
The Canvas Turbo is a minor upgrade over the Canvas 4, leaving aside the full-HD display, which in our opinion is not the best one we've seen. At a similar price range, the Gionee Elife E6 is a better option in terms of display quality and overall performance. The Spice Pinnacle FHD Mi-525 at a lower price, also makes for a better alternative.

The best part about the Canvas Turbo is its build quality, though you'll need to compromise with things like the absence of a memory card slot or removable battery.

The camera is still below par when compared to other phones in the segment, making the Canvas Turbo a very average full-HD phone, at best.

It offers the same software features that were first seen on the Canvas 4. We found these features to be gimmicky and these can be added with the help of some third party apps available on the Google Play Store.

Available at a price point of Rs. 19,990, the Canvas Turbo tries to pack in a lot of features but doesn't excel at anything. In the same price range, you could also perhaps look at the Nokia Lumia 720, the Sony Xperia C and the HTC Desire 500.

Also keep in mind the worst after sales service support of Micromax before investing.

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Google Nexus 5 review

2013-11-30T20:20:00.001+05:30

It caught everyone's fancy from the time it was first leaked in a video, and since then, all Android enthusiasts, and especially the ones who swear by the pure stock user interface of the operating system, have been eyeing this smartphone. No prizes for guessing, we're talking about the Nexus 5, Google's new platform showcase device which has been manufactured by Korean electronics giant, LG. It's also the first time that Google has launched its flagship device in the Indian market just weeks after its international launch. The pricing of the phone and the promise of priority software updates makes it an irresistible proposition. So, how does it perform in real world conditions? We put it to test and find out in our review.

Build/ Design

The Nexus 5 sports a very understated look and there's nothing really striking in the phone's design that will shout for your attention. The phone is made of plastic and doesn't feel very premium.

However, when you place the phone in your hand, you'll feel that it's very pleasant to hold thanks to the soft touch matte finish. Also, despite its large 4.95-inch screen, we didn't face any issues operating it with one hand. This is also due to the phone being quite lightweight at 130 grams.

The Nexus 5's edges are less curved and its corners less rounded compared to other phones, including the Nexus 4. The phone is available in Black and White colour variants and we got a Black one as our review unit.

The 4.95-inch full-HD display dominates the front of the Nexus 5, and there are no hardware buttons. A round LED notification light is placed below the display, while the sensor array and the front camera sits above it.

The right edge of the Nexus 5 features the Power/ Screen lock and the Micro-SIM card tray, and the left edge features the volume rocker key. All the keys are made of ceramic and offer decent tactile feedback.

The 3.5-mm headset jack sits at the top edge of the Nexus 5, while the Micro-USB port and speaker grill sits at the bottom edge.

As we mentioned, the back of the Nexus 5 sports a matte soft touch finish giving it a good grip. It is a bit susceptible to smudges, though. The rear features an 8-megapixel ring shaped camera lens and the LED flash, apart from LG and Nexus branding.

Display

The Nexus 5 comes with an IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels and pixel density of 445 ppi. The display comes with Corning's Gorilla Glass 3 protection making it resistant to scratches.

In our use, we found the Nexus 5's screen to be very bright, with text and images looking crisp and sharp. Colours looked vivid and not oversaturated like they look on AMOLED display though blacks don't look very deep.

The screen delivers great viewing angles, though it was a little reflective. Sunlight legibility was good though the screen brightness levels could be better.

Overall, the Nexus 5's display is one of the best in its class.

Software/ User Interface

The Nexus 5 is the first smartphone to ship with Android 4.4 KitKat, the latest release of the operating system. As with all Nexus devices, the phone includes the stock build of the operating system, without any additional UI skinning.

Android 4.4 KitKat on the Nexus 5 features a number of visual changes including a new launcher, making the interface even more minimalistic. It sports flatter design elements, muted colours in status icons, transparency, and smoother transition animations.

The first change that you'll notice is the transparent status and navigation key bars at the top and bottom, making the Nexus 5's screen look bigger and brighter. The Android 4.4 KitKat lock screen also features a small camera button, which helps in opening the camera app via the lock screen widget directly from the lock screen.

With Android 4.4 KitKat, you can now have as many home screens as you want by simply dragging an icon or placing a widget on a new one. After enabling Google Now, Google's smart assistant that fetches information and offers updates based on your data and usage behaviour, you'll see that the left most home screen would be Google Now pane with information cards and a search bar. The screen can also be invoked by swiping up the screen from the Home button. The Google search bar with the voice search icon is present on all home screens and cannot be removed.

Interestingly, you can also initiate voice search from the Nexus 5 when it's in the unlocked state by simply saying, 'Ok Google.' The option is only available when you choose US English as the default language option in the Google Now app's settings, though. With this change, Google search is integrated deeply with the phone.

The status bar icons and and UI elements in the notifications tray have been stripped off the blue colour in Android 4.4 KitKat, and now sport a muted white-grey shade.

The launcher has been revamped with icons looking bigger than their Jelly Bean avatars and dots are used to indicate the pagination in the home screen and app launcher, similar to iOS.

When you launch the KitKat app launcher or go back to the home screen, you'll notice a smooth fly away animation.

The app launcher now only features app icons and gets rid of widgets. Due to the larger icons, you'll see a 4x5 grid instead of a 5x5 grid.

Long pressing on the home screen brings up the menu to change the Wallpapers, Widgets and Google Now settings. The choice of default still wallpapers, live wallpaper and custom wallpapers are now available under a single menu.

The KitKat notifications tray features notifications that can be expanded by using two finger pull. It also features buttons for clearing all notifications and for displaying toggles for Brightness, Settings, Wi-Fi, Network, Battery, Aeroplane Mode, Bluetooth, Location settings and Alarm clock.

Android 4.4 KitKat also includes an immersive mode that hides the status and navigation bars offering a full screen experience in apps. Apps like Google Play Books already support this mode and developers can choose to enable it for their apps. The OS also allows developers to display semi-transparent navigation and status bars. We've not seen any apps that take advantage of this feature, however.

Android 4.4 also includes a revamped Phone app that now automatically prioritises your contacts based on the people you talk to the most. When you first launch the app, you'll see a screen that displays a search bar, a place where most frequently called contacts and favourites are displayed and shortcuts to launch all contacts, the dialling pad, call history and settings.

You can also search for nearby places and businesses, contacts, or people in their Google Apps domain directly from the search bar.

If you receive a call from a phone number that is not saved in your contacts, the Android 4.4 KitKat-based Nexus 5 will look for matches from businesses with a local listing on Google Maps.

We felt that the new Phone app could be a little overwhelming for some as it's not very intuitive when it comes to describing what the shortcut keys do. However, the search feature packs in an online phone directory in the app. It will even fetch numbers for users who've registered their phone numbers with Google. The number identification feature also works for incoming calls eliminating the need for apps like Trucaller.

Google has also combined its chat service and the Messaging (SMS) app into one app, Hangouts. The app lets you chat with your friends who use the Hangouts (erstwhile Google Talk) service and send messages to contacts. For people who don't actively use Google's instant messaging service or Google+, there's no value add that the unified app offers. It could also confuse these users if they've got unkempt Google+ profiles as it lists Google contacts on top when you want to compose a new message.

The Nexus 5 also includes the new Photos app that allows you to view and edit local and Google+ images. The new Photos app features deeper integration with Google+ and can be used to enable tagging in photos. The old Gallery app is still included in the app, though.

The Email app has also received an overhaul with KitKat, and the app displays the pictures of contacts for emails. Navigation has been made similar to the Gmail app and it also offers the swipe to delete gesture.

Google also includes its other apps including Drive, Keep, Play Games, Play Movies, Play Movies, Play Books, Play Newsstand and Quickoffice for creating and editing documents, spreadsheets and presentations. The new OS also supports printing through Google Cloud Print plugin or apps made by printer manufacturers.

Overall, KitKat on the Nexus 5 is an improvement when it comes to the overall experience of using the phone, though there's till some scope for improvement, especially in apps like Hangouts. The status icons are also inferior at offering feedback compared to the ones seen in previous versions of the OS.

Camera

The Nexus 5 sports an 8-megapixel rear camera with Optical Image Stabilisation, and a 1.3-megapixel front facing camera. The phone features the stock Android 4.4 Camera app with 4 default shooting modes - Still, Video, Panorama and Photo sphere (360-degree).

In the Still mode the app features settings for turning on HDR+, tinkering with Exposure, turning the LED flash on or off, switching between the front and back lenses and revealing more settings that include Geotagging toggle, Countdown timer, changing the picture size, White balance and the scene mode (Night, Action, Sunset, and Party).

Similarly, in the Video mode, you can change video quality settings (1080p, 720p or 480p), Time lapse, Exposure settings and Flash. We have to say that we're no fans of the nested arc shaped settings toggles and find the app a bit unintuitive.

Putting the camera of the Nexus 5 to test, we observed that images taken outdoors during daylight came out a tad brighter.

However, there are a number of issues with the phone's camera that we encountered in our use. We observed that auto-focus is not consistent, and focusing manually takes time resulting in images being different from what we desired. We also observed that there was a slight lag between the time we fired the shutter and when the phone captured the image.

Comparing images with the ones taken with an iPhone 5 in the same settings revealed that the white balance on the Nexus 5 camera (in the default mode) is skewed towards the warmer end of the spectrum. Low-light shots were also not up to the mark and had noise.

The camera does a good job for shooting videos and supports 1080p video capture.

The 1.3-megapixel front shooter does a decent job for video calling and taking self clicks. It supports 720p video capture.

Overall, the Nexus 5's camera is underwhelming at best. We hope Google pushes out a software update to fix the focus issues and shutter lag.

Performance/ Battery Life

The Nexus 5 comes with top of the line hardware (at this point in time), as it is powered by a quad-core 2.26GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor with 2GB of RAM, and an Adreno 330 chip for processing graphics. Our review unit had 32GB of built-in storage (a 16GB variant is also available), out of which 26.7GB is available to the user. The phone doesn't offer a microSD card slot for expandable storage.

The overall experience of navigation through the Nexus 5's interface was extremely impressive, thanks to all the power under the phone's hood and the UI being devoid of unnecessary bells and whistles such as transition effects.

We did not experience any lag at all while launching apps, playing games, scrolling web pages or switching between apps on the Nexus 5.

The gaming experience on the Nexus 5 was pretty good with games like Temple Run 2, Subway Surfers, Shadow Gun: Dead Zone and Asphalt 7 running without encountering any issues.

We were able to run a number of video formats except for full-HD MOV and AVI through the native video player on the Nexus 5. We also experienced some issues with audio while playing an MKV format video. This was easily fixed by downloading a third-party video player. The phone then plays full-HD videos without any issues.

The speaker on the Nexus 5 is another pain point. It delivers below average quality sound at high volume levels and the sound gets distorted. However, the speaker grill is located at the bottom edge so the sound doesn't get muffled when the phone lies on its back.

Notably, the Nexus 5 doesn't include FM radio functionality.

Call quality was good on the Nexus 5, and we were able to receive cellular signals even in low signal areas.

The Nexus 5 comes with a 2300mAh battery, and in our usage, it lasted us just about a day with medium usage, including 1-1.5 hours of phone calls, two e-mail accounts with push notifications, playing some music, clicking a few pictures, Twitter notifications and WhatsApp chats.

It's worth pointing out that we had mostly used 3G data with intermittent use of Wi-Fi and had put the phone's screen brightness at the highest level. Altering these settings might help in running the phone for a longer duration, depending on your usage pattern.

The Nexus 5 also includes NFC capabilities, and we were able to transfer and receive files through Android Beam, which combines Bluetooth and NFC for sharing data. The phone also allows you to transfer files to other devices through Wi-Fi without being on the same Wi-Fi network.

Verdict

The Nexus 5 is one of the best Android smartphones that you can buy for under Rs. 30,000. Powered by a Snapdragon 800 processor, and 2GB RAM, the phone ticks all the right boxes in terms of hardware specifications. Since it's a Google experience device, you're always assured of regular software updates (at least for the 18 months promised period).

These two big factors do partially offset the main disadvantages of the phone, namely its mediocre camera, lack of external storage support and underwhelming battery backup. Google may or may not bring a software fix to resolve the issues (if these are due to the software limitations) but even assuming that this is not the case, the starting price of Rs. 28,999 makes the Nexus 5 a great deal. We can't think of a phone in this price range that delivers the same value.

Price: Rs. 28,999

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Courtesy : gadgets.ndtv.com

Google officially launches its election portal in India

2013-11-30T20:13:00.000+05:30

Facebook, Google has jumped on the bandwagon of polls in India, the world's biggest democracy, by setting up an election portal that gives all polls and politics related news to users in India.

The US-based search engine major Thursday launched its election portal which also provides information on political parties.

"Election portal will serve as a one-stop destination to help voters get answers to their elections and voting-related queries to make an informed decision," Google said in official blog.

In the first phase of the launch, the portal will cover news information and videos related to state elections in Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Mizoram covering news from leading publications and broadcasters both in English and Hindi.

Users will also be able to watch content hosted by YouTube partners on elections and links to Hangouts done by political representatives in the recent past.

Earlier this month, social networking site Facebook joined hands with the Association for Democratic Reforms to help the voters access election candidates' criminal, financial, educational, professional information directly on their mobile via Facebook using USSD technology.

Facebook launched 'Register to Vote' feature, which seeks to promote its users to exercise their voting rights.

The feature encourages users to add on his/her Facebook timeline as a life event that the person has registered to vote and share this story with other connected users.

With over 200 million Internet users in the country, the Internet audience in India has reached a critical scale and it will play an important role in influencing decisions of a large proportion of the urban Indian population in the upcoming elections, Google said.

"Elections related search queries on Google have shown a considerable increase and the interest in news information related to elections and politics have started to peak," Google India Head of Public Policy and Government Relations Chetan Krishnaswamy said.

Leading political parties are active on most social media platforms, and users will be able to access all information sent out by the political parties on platforms like YouTube, Google+ and connect directly with the candidates in their constituency, he added.

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Courtesy : gadgets.ndtv.com

Samsung Galaxy S5 to come in two variants, ship alongside next Galaxy Gear

2013-11-30T20:08:00.001+05:30

Samsung's next flagship smartphone, expected to be called the Galaxy S5, might still be far from confirmed, but a new report suggests that the device will hit mass production in January 2014. The report also expects the speculated successor of Samsung Galaxy Gear to be launched alongside the rumoured Galaxy S5.

Korean publication, ET News reports that the South Korean manufacturer plans to release two versions of the alleged Galaxy S5. As per the report, there will be two variants of the Galaxy S5: a premium variant which will sport a metal chassis and a flexible OLED, and a variant which will come with the usual plastic body, as found on other Galaxy smartphones.

Earlier this week, a new set of images purportedly revealing the supposed metal frames of the rumoured Galaxy S5 was spotted online.

Further, the report speculates that Samsung will initially manufacture around 8,00,000 to 1 million units of the alleged Galaxy S5 in January, and will increase the number up to 6 million units in February. Samsung is likely to release the Galaxy S5 in March or April 2014, according to the report.

Sammobile has revealed some of the specifications of the alleged Galaxy S5, with two variants expected to be powered by 64-bit Exynos chipset and Snapdragon chipset (no word on this would be the new Snapdragon 805 chipset. Also expected on board is 3GB of RAM, a 16-megapixel camera, a 4000mAh battery and Android 4.4 KitKat with TouchWiz UI on top.

Galaxy S5, would not be equipped with a 16-megapixel camera as predicted earlier.

In addition, the ET News also claims that Samsung is also busy developing the successor to the Galaxy Gear smartwatch, and that it might launch along with the alleged Galaxy S5. The next generation Samsung Galaxy Gear is said to be 15 to 20 percent thinner than the current smartwatch. As of now, there is no word on specifications of the rumoured Galaxy Gear smartwatch.

A recent report has suggested that sales figures Samsung's first wearable device, the Galaxy Gear smartwatch, had been disappointing. However, Samsung countered the claim immediately after, and said that it sold 800,000 smartwatch units in 2 months.

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Courtesy : gadgets.ndtv.com

Micromax Canvas 4 Review

2013-07-20T19:48:00.002+05:30

Micromax Canvas 4 Review

Micromax launched it’s first device in the Canvas back in August 2012 , calling it the Superfone Canvas A100. The Micromax A110 Superfone Canvas 2 launched 3 months later in November. Micromax lost the Superfone tag soon after the second canvas device. The A116 Canvas HD, the company’s first smartphone with a HD display made a debut earlier this year. Micromax launched fourth device in the Canvas series is aptly named the Canvas 4 with a model number A210. One thing that is common in all the Canvas devices is the 5-inch display. Is the phone worthy at a price of Rs. 17,999? Let’s dive into the review to find it out.

Unboxing

We unboxed the device last week. Here is the unboxing video.

Box Contents

The box contents include:

Micromax Canvas 4 smartphone
Tangle-free micro USB Cable
2-pin charger adapter
Tangle-free in-ear earphones
Ear buds
2000 mAh battery
Warranty card
User Manual
A card with M!Live details

Micromax offers a Aluminium flip cover in the retail box, but it was missing in our box since it was a review unit.

Hardware

The phone has a 5-inch HD IPS display at a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixel at 294 PPI pixel density. The display is bright and has good viewing angles, but the outdoor visibility was not good. Since the phone has ambient light sensors, the display visibility is decent in indoor once you set it to auto mode. Since it is glossy, it becomes a finger print magnet. The phone doesn’t come with a one-glass solution (OGS) display like some of its competitors.

There is a 5-megapixel fixed-focus camera on the front, next to the ear piece. The camera can record videos at 720p HD resolution. It also has a usual pair of proximity and ambient light sensors. There is also a LED notification light next to the camera, which is hardly visible when it’s OFF.

There are the usual capacitive touch buttons for menu, home and back below the display. These are backlit and offers haptic feedback.

There is a volume rocker on the left side. Micromax has used anodized aluminium on the sides that runs on the sides of the phone. Even though it looks premium, it makes the device slippery while holding it.

The Power button is on the right side. Both these buttons have aluminium finish.

On the bottom there is a tiny microphone hole and a micro USB slot.

On the top there is a 3.5mm audio jack. Even though the back cover of the phone is closed, you can see a tiny gap.

On the back there is a 13-megapixel auto focus camera with LED flash. It is capable of recording full HD videos similar to the Canvas HD. There is a tiny secondary microphone hole next to the LED flash. There is a large silver colored Micromax logo below the camera.

On the bottom there is a Micromax branding, just above the loudspeaker.

The phone has plastic back cover similar to the previous Canvas devices. The shiny plastic cover makes the device slippery, and is a finger print magnet. The dimensions of the phone is 144.5 x 73 x 8.9. The height and width of the phone is almost similar to the Canvas HD, but the Canvas 4 is about 1.8mm thinner than its predecessor. It is quite heavy at 158 grams.

The plastic back cover could be removed easily, which reveals the battery and the slots for SIM cards and memory card.

The micro SD card slot is present just below the camera, between the SIM card slots. The phone uses a standard SIM card slot, similar to other Android devices from Micromax.

There is a 2000 mAh battery similar to the Canvas HD. Let’s talk about the battery life later.

Camera

The 13-megapixel camera has a Sony sensor. Sony Exmor sensor is present in the high-end phones likeOppo Find 5, the Lenovo K900 and the Samsung Galaxy S4. Llooks like Micromax has used a cheaper variant of the sensor. The camera UI is similar to other Android phones from local OEMs running Android 4.2. Since this is runs on Android 4.2, it support lockscreen widgets that lets you launch the camera directly from the lockscreen. It has a navigation bar on the left pane that lets you change the different camera modes including HDR, Panorama, Burst mode, Smile shutter and more. The settings menu lets you enable GPS location, adjust exposure, white balance, add color effects, change the scene mode and adjust anti-flicker mode. It also has burst mode that lets you capture 99 burst shots at once.

Images were decent, but not impressive. It takes some time to focus and the focus is not accurate. Macro shots were pretty good. Low light shots had a lot of noise, and the LED flash is overpowering, making the image look washed out.

Here are some photo samples (click to view images in full resolution.)

The phone can record videos at full HD 1080p resolution. Even though the colors look a bit over saturated the video quality is great. Here are video samples with and without the Electronic Image stabilization (EIS).

Without EIS

With EIS

You can read more about the phone’s camera in the Micromax Canvas 4 Camera Review and also check out our Camera Review video.

Software

The phone runs on Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean. The UI is similar to other phones from Indian OEMs running on Android 4.2. There are 5 homescreen, you can’t add or remove the number of home screen. You can press and hold on the home screen to change the wallpaper.

When you swipe from the top with a single finger, you get the transparent notification screen. You get the Quick Settings when you pull down from the top with 2 fingers. This lets you control Brightness and has toggles for WiFi, Airplane mode, Bluetooth, Data Connection, Data usage, Audio Profiles, Timeout and Auto rotation. You can hold some of these quick toggle buttons to get to the advanced settings. It has notifications that lets you perform several actions such as sharing or deleting an image directly from the lock screen.

The lock screen lets you add widgets. You can add a range of widgets including Gmail, Clock, Messaging, Sound Search and more. You can swipe to the right to launch the camera directly from the lock screen.

Micromax has added an app called M! Unlock powered by foneclay that lets you unlock the lock screen jut by blowing Air or shaking the device. It also also available to download from Google Play to download on other devices. Here is a demo of the feature.

Once you disable the M! Unlock feature, you get a normal lock screen. There are different unlock options such as Slide, Face Unlock, Pattern, PIN and Password and Voice Unlock. It has Google Now, but you can’t access it from the lock screen by swiping up or by holding the home button. However you can add the Google Now widget on the lock screen. You can’t access the lockscreen widgets when the blow to unlock feature is enabled.

The phone has Daydream feature that acts as a screensaver when the phone is charging or docked. Micromax has added Smart Gestures that could be enabled from the settings. These include option to attend incoming calls automatically by holding the phone close to the ear, dial a number by bringing it to close to ear after choosing a contact, change the profile to silent by flipping the phone upside down, put an incoming call on silent by flipping the phone over and keeping it down, and switch on the speaker phone on a call when you turn the phone upside down. There is also a tutorial to learn about the gesture in detail.

Check out our video in which we demo all these smart gestures

Micromax has added a separate app called popup browser that opens a small popup window with a URL bar to open up a website on a small window. You can adjust this window easily. You can also click the maximize button to open it in the stock Android browser, but you can’t get back to the popup browser again after you maximize it.

Micromax has developed a new video player that has pinning feature. This feature is similar to the popup play feature in the Samsung devices. Again, you can minimize it to the notification bar and click the maximize button to open it in the video player. There are zoom-in and zoom-out buttons to view the player in two different sizes, as you can see in the image above.

The Video player lets you preview a video when other video playing. You can also adjust the brightness and volume by swiping on the left and right side of the screen respectively, while the video is playing.

Here is a video demo that shows off the video pinning and other video player features.

The Pause on Look away feature pauses the video automatically when you look away. This is similar to the Samsung’s Smart Pause. This uses the phone’s front-facing camera to detect your eyes, so it will not work in low lighting conditions.

Here is a video demo of the feature.

Out of 16 GB of internal storage you get 10.02 GB of user storage. The free phone memory is 2.46 GB. Out of 1GB of RAM, you get 971MB of usable RAM. About 544MB of RAM is free when the phone is idle.

Once you insert an SD card you get option to switch the default write disk to the SD Card, but you can move apps only to the Internal SD card, and not the External SD. The phone also comes with built-in OTA update feature that lets you download the latest update directly from the Micromax’s server.

Apps

The phone comes with lot of pre-loaded apps. The Utility apps include, Calculator, Calendar, Clock, File Manager, NoteBook, Email, Sound Recorder and ToDo . It also comes with the usual set of Google Apps. Other apps include, Opera mini, foneclay ( to download wallpapers), Hike messenger, Kingsoft Office (to view and edit documents) and Spuul (to view free movies). It also comes pre-loaded with games such as The Dark M, NFS Shift and Fruit Devil.

The M! Security app powered by NQmobile protects the devices from virus. It also lets you backup contacts and also lets you track your device when it’s stolen. In the Premium Zone inside the app you can enable lot of additional features at a nominal cost.

The Game Hub and M! Live apps lets you purchase games. The M! Zone app offers scheduled SMS alerts.

Music Player and FM Radio

Unlike a standard music player, the Canvas 4 has a new user interface for the music player. It can play different audio formats, including MP3, MIDI, AAC, AMR and WAV. The slide-out bar shows shows lists the songs in the music library under different categories. The Now Playing UI is quite different with a dial to seek music and large play/pause button in the center. Apart from these UI changes, the settings are similar that lets you enable the equalizer for Bass boost and 3D effect features when you are listening using earphones. Audio from the bundled ear phones are pretty good. Since these have tangle-free cables, you don’t have to spend time to untangle when you carry it in your pocket. Since it in pure white color, it gets dirty easily.

The online music tab inside the music player opens up a Music Hub wap page that lets you purchase the songs. Micromax offered 3 months of unlimited music downloads with the A88 Canvas Music, but this phone doesn’t come with any such offers. The phone has FM Radio with auto search, RDS and recording. Audio from the loudspeaker is also good, but it could be better.

It can play Full HD videos in different formats, including 3GP, MP4, AVI. Of course, videos look great on the HD screen.

Calls and Messaging

Calls went though fine without any dropped calls. Since this is a dual SIM phone, you get options to switch to either SIM cards from the notification bar. The keyboard is stock, but it doesn’t come with gesture typing like the stock Android 4.2.

Dual SIM

There is a SIM manager option in the settings that lets you set a default SIM for several operations including voice call, video call, Messaging and Data connection. You can also choose ‘Always ask’ option for voice calls and Messaging that gives you option to complete the operation after you choose either SIM cards.

Connectivity

Icons in the settings in most of the devices are usually in black and white, but Micromax has added colors to these icons. Connectivity features include, 3G (HSDPA: 42 Mbps, HSUPA: 11 Mbps), Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth v 4.0 with A2DP and GPS. It has support for wireless display. You can share content from the phone to a HDTV by connecting a wireless display adapter to a HDMI-enabled TV. This option comes as default in the Android 4.2. Some had GPS issues previously in the Canvas 2 A110 and the Canvas HD, the Canvas 4 doesn’t have any such issues. The phone also comes with USB on-the-go (OTG) support that lets you connect storage devices.

Performance and Benchmarks

It is powered by a 1.2 GHz quad-core MediaTek 6589 processor with PowerVR SGX544 MP2 GPU similar to the A116 Canvas HD. The scores are slightly better in the Canvas 4, this might be due to the latest Android 4.2 OS.

Quadrant Benchmark

The Micromax A210 scorse over 4000 points in the Quadrant benchmark.

AnTuTu Benchmark v3.3

In the AnTuTu Benchmark 3.3, the Canvas 4 grabs the 3rd spot.

Vellamo 2.0 HTML5

The Micromax A210 grabs the second spot with 1471 in the Vellamo 2 HTML5 browser benchmark.

Vellamo 2.0 Metal

The Canvas 4 grabs the second spot again with over 450 points in the Vellamo 2 CPU subsystem performance test. Check out the complete set Micromax Canvas 4 A210 Benchmarks here.

We tried out some games in the device such as Asphalt 7 and NFS Most Wanted, which were smooth without any lags. Check out the game play videos below.

We even connected the PS3 dual shock controller using a USB OTG Cable and tried Shadow Gun game, which worked perfectly fine.

Battery Life

Coming to the battery, the phone packs a 2000 mAh lithium-ion battery, similar to the Canvas HD. It offers a day of usage if you are a average user, but if you use 3G data, both the SIM cards and play high-end games, it’ll last half a day. Wish Micromax offered a large capacity battery. The phone doesn’t have any unique power saver apps to improve the battery life.

Conclusion

Overall, the Canvas 4 is not a huge upgrade to the Canvas HD. People expected full HD display, faster processor and a larger battery. The Canvas 4 has a better build, better front and rear cameras, offers 16GB of internal storage, has some additional software features and comes with a free Aluminium flip cover compared to the Canvas HD. If you already have the A116 Canvas HD, you don’t find anything new apart from these things, if these doesn’t impress you, wait for the next Canvas phone, which would probably come later this year. Even though the video quality in the camera is good, auto focus is very slow when you capture images. At a price tag of about Rs. 17,999, it’s a bit costly compared to other similar range smartphones. If you can compromise on the price and the camera, for the display and build quality, go for it.

Pros

Good display
Good build quaility
Fast performance
Full HD video recording is good

Cons

Auto focus in the camera is very slow
Average battery
Slightly on the expensive side
Brush aluminium on the sides makes the device slippery.

Courtesy : FoneArena

Android 4.3 leaks online, brings new dialler, camera app

2013-07-20T19:39:00.001+05:30

While Google is expected to release the next version of its mobile operating system, Android 4.3, next week, a leaked copy of the OS for Nexus 4 devices has already appeared online.

Although it's known that Android 4.3, which would continue to be referred as Jelly Bean, will be a minor update and won't bring major user-facing changes, it still offers some incremental updates.

According to a hands-on video uploaded by Android Central, the update will increase the touch responsiveness of the Nexus 4.

The new update will bring an additional feature to the phone's dialler suggesting phone numbers from your contacts as you dial by matching digits or looking up names. It also adds an option to add pauses while calling a number.

Android 4.3 also seems to brings a new Wi-Fi setting, 'Scanning always available' which will allow apps to get location data through Wi-Fi even when Wi-Fi is set to off and not being used for data access.

As revealed in previous leaks, Android 4.3 also offers a new updated Camera app that features a new arch based menu that makes it easier to control and switch camera settings.

In addition to these, the update brings the OpenGL 3.0 graphics standard for better 3D rendering for visual effects in apps and games, and Bluetooth LE (Low Energy) support, through which devices running the OS will be able to sync with low power wearable devices like health monitors and smart watches.

The update also offers a new Notifications history menu which keeps a log of all notifications and the app responsible for them.

The screenshots had suggested changes to the Camera app. We had earlier seen the same camera app when a Nexus 4 running Android 4.3 was spotted at the Thailand Mobile Expo last month.

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Courtesy : http://gadgets.ndtv.com/

Sony unveils world's fastest home Internet at 2Gbps, humbles Google Fiber

2013-04-17T16:59:00.000+05:30

When it comes to Internet speeds, we in India are a deprived lot. So if news of a Sony-backed ISP (internet service provider), called So-net Entertainment, launching the “world’s fastest” home Internet connection makes you want to emigrate to Japan, we totally get that.

So just how fast is this new Internet highway from So-net? Well, the Nuro Light network -- which is what the new uber fast optical fiber Internet service is officially called -- offers lucky Japanese netizens connections that allow 2Gbps of download speed and 1Gbps of upload speed, according to a report.

The Sony-backed Nuro 2Gbps Internet service is rolling out to home users and small businesses in Japan’s capital city, Tokyo, and its surrounding areas. Due to existing network adapter bottlenecks in most devices, including routers, it is unlikely that individual users of this Internet service will actually experience 2Gbps data speeds.

Just to put things in perspective, the Google Fiber service, an ultra-fast Internet connection which is all the rage in the US right now, offers “only” 1Gbps download speeds to homes in Kansas City where the service is up and running. That’s half of what Nuro promises to deliver to Japanese home Internet users, and at a much cheaper rate, too.

A Nuro business slide shows its connection model

Nuro’s 2Gbps Internet connection is currently being offered at a price of 4,980 Yen per month for a two-year contract, which is about US $51 per month or about Rs. 2,700 per month. Not bad, eh? Compared to this, Google Fiber’s 1Gbps connection is more expensive at US $70 per month or about Rs. 3,800 per month.

The Sony-backed Nuro 2Gbps Internet service also comes with a one-time installation charge of 52,500 Yen (about US $531), but that charge is being waived off for customers who sign-up online, Computerworld reports.

In late 2011, we had reported that scientists from Caltech and the University of Victoria had achieved a sustained data transfer rate between computers of 186Gbps across a standard, commercially available fibre optic line.

Any guesses how long before we experience such mind-boggling Internet speeds from our local ISPs? Drop us a comment below.

Courtesy : Chip

BSNL Internet running at less than 80% capacity due to under-sea cable cuts

2013-04-01T14:51:00.002+05:30

Three under-sea cables connecting India to Europe and the Middle-East suffered from multiple cuts last week.

BSNL has released a statement revealing that its Internet capacity has dropped by 21% thanks to fiber cuts in three undersea cables that are responsible for global connectivity. According to a story by NDTV, it’s still not clear if the cable cuts have resulted in sub-par Internet connectivity for BSNL users since the BSNL customers we spoke to did not notice any anomalies in Internet speeds and connectivity.

Two of the undersea cables that suffered from cuts are managed by Tata Communications- the IWEWE cable system connects India to Europe via the Middle East and the SMW4 cable system connects South East Asia to Europe. In a statement, Tata Communications confirmed the cable cut and said that some customers could have noticed service disruptions last Wednesday.

We had earlier done a story on how these under-sea cable cuts could have been responsible for slow Internet speeds last week rather than the more publicized massive DDoS attack waged on Spamhaus, that was initially blamed for global Internet slowdown. If you’re still suffering from abnormally low Internet speeds, you should get in touch with your ISP since the companies managing the affected under-sea cables have said that services should be back to normal.

Courtesy : ThinkDigit

Waiting for the Apple iWatch? Here are some existing smartwatches

2013-03-31T15:23:00.002+05:30

A perfect blend of tech and style

Explicitly named I’m Watch, this smartwatch lets you combine superior tech specs with style. It is available in aluminium, titanium and elegant gold/silver options, and straps in different colours to go along with it. Whether you are an iOS or Android user, this smartwatch connects with both to let you use functions like call, SMS, emails and so on. It runs on a customised Android version dubbed I’m Droid and is compatible with smartphones running on Android 4.0 or above as well as iOS 4.0 or above. The device has a 1.54-inch display with 240 x 240 resolution (220 ppi) and brings access to a slew of apps from its I’m Market store. On connecting it via Bluetooth, the watch will allow you to access your phone functions from the watch instead of pulling out the smartphone from your bag. It has a rechargeable battery; the generic usage time is about 5 hours while the standby time is up to 24 hours. One can use its 4GB of internal memory to stock up apps along with the "I'm Cloud" cloud service that the watch supports. The I’m watch is currently being sold for Rs 17,990 as a promotional offer until early next month, after which the price is expected to shoot up to Rs 24,990.

A perfect blend of tech and style

Sony’s Smartwatch for Android smartphones

Sony already has its Smartwatch on store shelves, which is not limited to use only with Sony smartphones. The Sony Smartwatch – yes, that’s its name too – is compatible with most Android phones from other manufacturers too. The square smooth aluminium body can be paired with straps in multiple colour choice. Using the smartwatch, you can read your messages, social updates from Facebook and Twitter, calendar updates and other notifications from your Android device. Android users have to follow three simple steps to get started with the Sony Smartwatch. You need to download the Liveware manager, connect the watch to the phone via Bluetooth and then download the Smartwatch app. Furthermore, users will be able to use several other apps available on Google Play – by downloading them from within the Smartwatch app or Live manager. All this can be displayed on its 1.3-inch OLED display. Moreover, you can also accept, reject or mute calls from the watch. The smartphone battery will squeeze through a day with heavy usage and 3-4 days on light usage. The Sony Smartwatch is available through online retailers for a price tag of around Rs 7,800.

Affordable and non-branded

Chinese device makers never cease to surprise or disappoint us. Owing to the hoard of cheaper clones and lookalikes these markets churn out, we have a handful of affordable smartwatches in the market too. One such device is the Watch Mobile Q8 selling for Rs 4,999, a standalone smartwatch that you don't have to connect to any smartphone. This GSM smartwatch supports dual SIM and features a 1.3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth 2.0, 1.2-inch display, FM Radio and support for MP3, MP4. We also came across the XElectron M998 watch cum mobile phone, a standalone smartwatch priced at Rs 3,999. Sporting a 1.3-inch touchscreen display with 640 x 480 resolution, it comes with a meagre in-built memory of 45KB and the expandable memory via microSD card is also limited to 4GB. Its 450 mAh battery allows 2-3 hours of talktime and 2-3 days of standby time. A similar product is the Multimedia watch cum mobile.

This successful Kickstarter campaign managed to attract several investors and is seemingly going down well with consumers as well. The Pebble is a stylish looking smartwatch that is compatible with devices running Android (v4.0 and above) and iOS (5.0 and above). It's not a standalone smartphone, sadly, but we don't think people are even ready to compromise the superior features of a smartphone or a large screen display for extreme portability. Nevertheless, the Pebble still makes heads turns with its cool looks and set of features. The smartwatch connects with your smartphone via Bluetooth and displays incoming calls, emails, SMS, iMessage for iOS devices, calendar and weather alerts, Facebook and Twitter messages and so on. The Pebble smartwatch is currently available for pre-order for approximately Rs 7500 (excluding shipping charges)

With an athletic streak

Motorola also has its smartwatch targeting fitness and sports freaks. The company has limited it as a fitness tracker and smart MP3 player. Now, we know there are several other sports watches which use sensor-based technology to track your exercise and sports routine. However, this smartwatch is Wi-Fi enabled to sync with Motorola MotoActv portal and also connects to Motorola smartphones using the MotoActv app. It uses the Accusense technology along with GPS to track your workout data like time, distance, speed, calories burned and heart rate; it also monitors your performance while you engage in different sports activities. Available in 8GB and 16GB options, it has a 1.6-inch display with a scratchproof Gorilla glass. The 8GB model is available online for Rs 14,999.

Besides, there’s the Neptune Pine, a standalone smartwatch with a 2.5-inch display and a 1GHz single-core ARM Cortex A9 processor. It has a decent spec sheet with support for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, 3G and 5MP camera. Another company offering smartwatch is Meta Watch, which was previously a division of Fossil. It is prepping up the Metawatch smartwatch, which compatible with iOS and Android.

Even Samsung has confirmed that it is working on a smartwatch, not surprising us by an inkling. However, it hasn't divulged any information about the features, launch time or price. Meanwhile, a team of 100 members is working on the Apple iWatch. This means, very soon there will be a slew of smartwatches from every nook and corner of the tech stream, and lets not forget the cheaper Chinese markets. Do you believe smartwatches are the next hot trend in technology?

Suddenly, the buzzword in the tech industry seems to be “smartwatches”, and we think the only reason for this is the series of speculations and rumours surfacing about the iWatch by Apple. This reminds us of the pre-iPad launch period, when rumours about the Apple tablet were rife and all of a sudden, several renowned manufacturers also started prepping their own version of tablets. Today, tablets are arguably the most celebrated mobile computing devices. However, this isn't the same for smartwatches. Moreover, we already have a few smartwatches in the market, which makes us wonder what new or different Apple plans to do. We don't know how long we would have to wait for the iWatch, but here are a few smartwatches already available in the market.

Courtesy : Tech2

Micromax Canvas 2 A110 due for Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update next week

2013-03-08T11:40:00.000+05:30

Micromax's 5-inch smartphone, the Canvas 2 A110 that ran on Android 4.0 ICS since its launch in October, will receive the 4.1 Jelly Bean update next week.

Micromax Canvas2 A110

A lot of budget smartphone manufacturers have promised us an OS update on their Android devices and rarely have they delivered. Today, we have the news that the Micromax Canvas 2 A110 will receive the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update as early as next week. The device was launched in October 2012 and ran on Android 4.0 ICS straight out of the box.

There is one downside to this update. It will not be available to users OTA or via the PC. Users will have to go to a Micromax service center to update their device. What remains to be seen is whether it is worth the effort for a user to go to the Micromax store just to update the phone’s OS.

“This will not be an OTA update. Users will have to go to Micromax-authorised service centres to get the update. Currently, we are conducting tests on the Jelly Bean ROM and will be releasing the update by early next week latest,” a Micromax spokesperson said.

The Micromax Canvas 2 A110 is one of the better budget 5-inch smartphones that we have tested. It has a 5-inch display with a 480x854 pixel resolution, 4GB of built-in storage expandable up to 32GB via a microSD card, and a 1GHz dual-core processor coupled with 512MB of RAM. The rear of the smartphone houses an 8MP camera. It also boasts of dual-SIM capabilities. It also has a 2000mAh battery.

Micromax recently launched the A116 Canvas HD, a smartphone that boasts of a 1280x720 pixel 5-inch display, a quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM. The device is one of the best budget smartphones we have seen.

At the launch of the Micromax A116 Canvas HD, the budget smartphone maker said that the device would be upgradable to Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. There is still no information available on the details of that update.

Courtesy: AndroidOS.in

How To: Get the best wireless router settings for your home

2013-02-16T15:14:00.000+05:30

Set up the router in your house to maximize performance and minimize security risks

Using an Internet connection on a single PC is a pretty simple task that can be done by connecting an Ethernet cable, but wireless-enabled devices such as smartphones, tablets and laptops require wireless connectivity, which brings in the need for a router. Most users step out and buy a wireless router off the shelf and install it on their own. And since wireless routers usually can operate directly out of the box, they are not secured by default. Some routers, such as Belkin, provide a secured wireless network out of the box, whereas routers from other manufacturers usually have open networks and common administrative passwords. This is an open invitation to anyone in the vicinity to simply search and connect to your network with ease, thus jeopardising your data and even utilising your expensive Internet bandwidth

Change the default password of the router

Here is a step by step procedure on how you should configure the router and prevent intruders from entering into your wireless network. Do note that though routers from various manufacturers have different interfaces, the settings should be similar. We will be showing you an example using a Linksys router’s user interface. Perform the following steps after connecting the router to the PC.

To begin with, check the router’s user manual or the sticker on the rear or lower panel of the router for the default IP address, username and password. It would most commonly be 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1. Type this IP address in any Internet browser and you should be greeted with the routers main interface, asking you to give in the username and password.

Change the default IP address and set the DHCP accordingly

Change the default password

Once you are logged in, change the password. You should consider this mandatory as routers usually have a common username and password and anyone can easily get in. You should see the option in the Administration section. You can choose to go ahead with the setup wizard to configure the router or stick to manual configuration. We show you the manual method.

Change the default IP address

Next, you should set a local IP address for the router. By default, the manufacturer uses IP addresses such as 192.168.0.1 or the 192.168.1.1. We recommend that you change second-last section to a random number between 1 and 254. For example, you can change it to 192.168.25.1 or to make it safer, you can change the entire subnet to 10.20.xxx.xxx or 172.16.xxx.xxx to be safer. This will now be your router’s default IP address to configure it in future, unless you decide to factory reset the router again.

Set the DHCP server mode to disable

This is a service built into your router, which automatically assigns an IP address to every computer or device that connects to it. Disabling it will mean every computer or device on the network will have to be assigned with a static IP address. In this way, if a user has access to the router’s username and password, he would still have to guess an IP address to enter the network. If you wish to keep it enabled, you should set the IP address range to a minimum. For example, if you have five devices connecting to your router, set the DHCP server to give out only five IP addresses. This way, the sixth device will not be able to get an IP address and get on the network easily.

Change the channel of the wireless operation accordingly

Set up the wireless network

Head on to the wireless section. Here you should give your wireless network an SSID or a network name. Change the default to something else, but resist putting in sensitive information that can give out details stating that it is your network. So if an outsider is scanning for a wireless network and sees your SSID, he should not know whose it is.

Set the wireless channel

A wireless channel is the frequency zone of operation for your router's wireless network. This ranges from channel 1 to 11 with each channel differing marginally in frequency values to keep them apart. This should be done because if you are having other wireless routers in your area (or neighborhood), you could be using the same channel they are using, which will cause interference in both networks and reduce the efficiency and speed of your wireless network. If you know what channel other routers in your area are using, set yours apart from theirs by at least three channels apart. In order to find out the channel numbers of other routers in the vicinity, you can use a utility that will scan the wireless network and list it out to you. You can use inSSIDer for Windows on a laptop or WiFi Analyzer on an Android device.

Check the signal strength, channels and other wireless networks in the area with utilities

Disable the Wireless SSID broadcast

This feature will hide your wireless network from anyone who is scanning for an available wireless network in your area. If you disable the broadcast, you will need to manually add your wireless network every time you set up a new device to connect to your router. This feature is recommended for use, as a hidden network is safer than a visible one.

Enable the WPS or SES mode

This is a feature used by most wireless devices to securely connect to a wireless router without entering any passwords. For example, if you want to connect a device to your router, you should press the physical WPS or SES button on the router to allow your device to be connected without entering any password. So if anyone needs to gain access, he has to press the button on your router.

Set up the wireless security

Head on to the wireless security section. By default the manufacturer, in most cases, keeps the wireless security disabled. This is highly vulnerable if left untouched, as anyone can wirelessly connect to your router without a password. Always select WPA2 Personal with TKIP or AES algorithms. You will then need to enter a password. Opt for an alphanumeric password and try not using simple or dictionary words that can make it easy for anyone to guess, or for a password cracking utility to break through. Try using longer passwords.

Ensure the strongest security configuration for the wireless network

Use MAC filters

Using the wireless MAC filter is one of the best security feature possible for a router. You can configure the router in such a way that it can only allow known computers and devices to enter the network and reject all unknown ones. You should configure this section carefully and only after noting the MAC addresses of every computer and device you will connect to it. To get the MAC address of each device, you can check the network device’s properties section or check out for any sticker on the product itself.

Enable MAC filters to deny unknown devices to the network

Tweak signal strength

Head on to the advanced wireless settings if your router features it. Here you can fine tune the router’s wireless network to work more efficiently. Basically, we would recommend tweaking the transmission strength or the wireless signal settings to the required level. This feature will only beam out your wireless signals in your area of required coverage and not further. If all your wireless devices are located inside your house, there should be no reason the wireless signals should go outside your house. To know the signal strength, you can use InSSIDer or WiFi Analyzer to know the signal strength of your wireless network and increase/lower it accordingly. Note: Some routers do not have this feature and you can skip this section.

Access restriction and parental control

This section can be set up if you want to control how your users can access the Internet. You can set up devices to use the Internet at particular times or on specified days of the week only. This way you can control your Internet bandwidth wastage and also set up access restrictions to other users on the network. This section also can help block websites by name or keywords. Use this feature if you want parental control over your users.

Set up access restrictions and parental controls

Logging and updates

Logs and firmware updates should be monitored frequently. Enable logging to know your router's network usage where you can be informed about devices connecting and leaving the network, or the bandwidth used by particular devices. This feature can help you check if anyone is entering your network without your knowledge. If your router has options to send you alerts via email or SMS, we recommend using it. Lastly, keep your router’s firmware updated to the latest. This can help you gain additional features and improve its security if the manufacturer has rectified some bugs in the firmware. Use the auto update feature if available.

Keep the firmware updated at all times

Passwords

Maintain the habit of using random passwords and changing them frequently—try this weekly or at least twice a month. This can act as an additional security level—it can hurl out an undetected user who has already logged on to your network, without your knowledge, the next time he or she connects again. It can also discourage them from trying to hack into your network again as it would involve a lot of hard work hacking all over again.

Router placement

Place the router in a perfect area to maximise its coverage and get the highest speed. As most routers use an Omni-directional antenna, the radio waves are spread all around instead of being thrown a in a single direction. Hence, routers placed near a wall have their transmission half inside the room and the remaining half outside the room. In this way, your network is seen outside your area and there is a loss of power because the radio waves are not being used efficiently. Always place the router in the central zone of the entire coverage area to make the best use of the wireless power and also lower the leakage of the radio waves outside your room. Lastly, keep all other equipment that work on a similar wireless frequency away from the router or switch them off. Equipment such as Bluetooth devices, microwave ovens, cordless telephones, and a few remote controlled toys operate on the 2.4GHz frequency, which can cause an interference with your wireless router.

Decide the best location for your router.

Physical wireless switch

If your router has a physical switch to turn off the radio, you can use this feature to disable the wireless networking when you are not using any wireless devices. This feature only turns off the wireless network while keeping the computers on the wired network untouched. This feature also saves you the trouble of logging into your router’s firmware and switching off the radio from the firmware.

Configure Guest network

A few new router models are seen featuring an additional virtual network called Guest network or Guest SSID, which allows your friends or guests to gain temporary access to your network and use the Internet. But this Guest network isolates all other computers in the LAN from the guest user and denies permissions to shared drives and such. The feature is good for securing your local network from friends, but not the Internet usage. Enable this feature only if you need it.

Enable and make use of the Guest SSID feature if available

Upgrade your wireless clients to the latest technology

If you are using older generation 802.11 b or 802.11 g devices, it is advisable to use the latest 802.11 n technology-based devices for superior performance and increased coverage area. When buying a new router and/or laptop, always opt for the 802.11 n technologies.

Third party firmware

If you are an advanced user, or if you want to have additional features enabled for minute tweaking of the wireless router’s settings, you can also opt to change the default firmware to a DDWRT-based or Tomato-based third party firmware. You can log on to the DDWRT website and check if there is an available firmware for your router.

Now that you have configured your router, you can sit back and relax without the worry of anyone trying to intrude into your network. But you can never be sure since hackers are constantly developing better cracking utilities to break into secured networks. Neverthless, you should take your necessary precautions. Maintain the habit of frequently changing passwords, SSID names and the IP address range of the router. Try not to keep sensitive data open on your network, which can lure an intruder into sabotaging your privacy. Finally, make sure you use a good firewall, antivirus and privacy suite to be safe.

Courtesy : Tech2

BlackBerry Z10 Tips & Tricks To Extend Battery Life

2013-02-15T16:33:00.002+05:30

The new BlackBerry Z10 launched with bells and whistles and set new records, but numerous reports of poor battery life mar the experience.

In fact, short battery life is the biggest complaint about the smartphone. Normally, developers should jump in and address the problem, but it seems this is not the case. Consequently, new Z10 owners have to do their best to deal with the handset's battery performance.

Until BlackBerry 10 (BB10) eventually gets an update, users can try a few tricks to temporarily extend the battery life of the Z10. First of all, the BlackBerry Z10 has a removable battery, which means Z10 owners can use accessories such as the Battery Charger Bundle. The accessory supports the LS1 battery and allows users to charge one battery while using the other. This BlackBerry Battery Charger Bundle costs roughly $48 and is available for purchase from ShopCrackBerry.

Not everyone, however, can afford or is willing to pay extra for an accessory to address the Z10's battery issue. For those looking for a temporary fix that doesn't add more cost, here are a few tips and tricks:

Sleep While Locked

Keeping the device locked will save some battery, but setting it to go to sleep when the device locks will make a bigger difference. Reducing the amount of time needed before the Z10 automatically locks can also help preserve battery life.

Ditch Unnecessary Connections

When an Internet connection over Wi-Fi is not absolutely necessary, turning the Wi-Fi off might be a good idea. The same goes for Bluetooth and other connections. The more a phone stays connected to such services, the more it will drain the battery.

Adjust Display Lights

Many smartphone users never think of how much juice a big, bright display takes. Dimming the light on the screen can have a tremendous effect on the handset's battery life. Even a little less light can save a huge deal on battery. Displays are battery drainers.

Turn Off Unused Features

The new BlackBerry Z10 has some exciting specs and software, but remember that everything comes at a cost. Most users don't really need all of the features they keep turned on. Going through active features and deciding to turn off unused ones may significantly conserve battery life. Some may argue that this practice would mean turning the smartphone into a simple phone, but some compromises may go a long way until an update improves battery performance.

Ultimately, the decision is up to the consumer. BlackBerry Z10 owners unsatisfied with the handset's battery life can either wait for an update, purchase a battery accessory or customize the device so that it preserves the battery.

Courtesy : http://www.mobilenapps.com

BlackBerry Z10 Review

2013-02-15T16:03:00.001+05:30

This is a new beginning for BlackBerry. A new flagship device with a new operating system, looking to excite the fans of the BlackBerry platform and breathe new life into a company that’s lost massive ground to Apple and Google.

The BlackBerry Z10 treads ground that BlackBerry has covered before: the Storm and the Torch 9860 models both tried to crack the touchscreen-only approach, and while they had their advocates, they didn’t exactly stir excitement.

It’s interesting, then, that BlackBerry has launched the Z10 first, rather than the safer Q10, which is essentially an evolution of the popular Qwerty Bold. The move outlines a real commitment to stepping forward, it gives the impression that touch is what BlackBerry wants, or the recognition that it's what consumers want.

So can BlackBerry 10 on the BlackBerry Z10 give you that touchscreen experience so well refined in competitors? Is the Z10 a viable alternative to Android, Windows Phone or the iPhone? Or is the BlackBerry Z10 only going to appease those BlackBerry users who want to, finally, have a touchscreen device to shout about?

Design

BlackBerry design hasn’t been the most dramatic over the past few years. Rather like Porsche, sticking to a tried and tested formula has very much been the path. That makes sense when the keyboard is the top priority, but with the Z10 you don’t have that crutch.

The BlackBerry Z10, then, has an opportunity to showcase BB design. Although there’s only so much you can do with a device that’s based around a 4.2-inch display, distinct design is still possible. Look at HTC or Apple: the choice of premium materials, precision manufacturing, attention to detail.

Some may say that the BlackBerry Z10 is as close to a generic touchscreen device as you can get - a slab of smartphone. That’s a touch unfair, because it does have some merits, but we have to admit that it lacks flair.

The size is something of a contentious point. Not because it is big, per se, but because it doesn’t make as efficient use of space as some of its rivals. Take the Motorola RAZR i for example. This features a fractionally larger display, yet is noticeably smaller (seen below). The BlackBerry Z10 measures 130 x 65.6 x 9mm and it weighs 137.5g. It’s the 130mm that feels too big: it’s almost as tall as the Nexus 4, and that adds half an inch of screen size.

But that aside, we actually like the feel of the Z10 in the hand. It feels well built, a solid lump. The back might only be a plastic clip-on plate, but we don’t mind that. It isn’t as luxurious as the woven glassfibre of the Q10, but we don’t see that as a problem.

The squared edges mean it feels thicker than some of the sculpted larger screen phones out there - like the Samsung Galaxy S III - but it does mean it will stand, like a monolith, unsupported. Sure, it doesn’t really add much, but you can at least perch it on your desk whilst you watch a video.

On the top of the phone is a central power/standby button, along with the 3.5mm headphone socket. The volume rocker sits on the right-hand side, with a central mute/voice command button. The external speaker sits at the bottom, but isn’t muffled if you stand the phone up, so works rather well, and the quality of this speaker is better than previous devices.

On the left-hand side of the phone you have two connections. The Micro-USB for charging - you’ll get used to that - as well as syncing, and the micro HDMI so you can hook your Z10 up to a display, either to share a video you’ve just shot with family, or to roll-out a PowerPoint presentation.

Hardware and display

Sitting at the core of the Z10 is a 1.5GHz dual-core processor with 2GB of RAM. You get 16GB of internal memory as well as the microSD card slot, allowing expansion cards up to 64GB, so storage shouldn’t be a problem.

There’s plenty of connectivity on board, as the Z10 offers 4G LTE and HSPA+ so, should your network support it, you’ll enjoy fast data speeds. Additionally you have dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, and NFC, so it very much keeps up with the Joneses on wireless connectivity front.

There’s also a whole host of sensors, like the conventional GPS, and all the motion sensors you’d expect. We've had some problems with the rotation switching though, as it seems to take a while for the phone to rotate and sometimes it just refused to, or would get stuck in the wrong aspect, which is a little irritating.

There’s an ambient light sensor that will change the brightness of the display, adjusting around the manual brightness slider in the settings, rather than having "auto" and "manual" settings.

The display itself, as we said, measures 4.2-inches on the diagonal. That puts in in the middle ground of smartphones in modern terms, but with a resolution it offers 1280 x 768 pixels, it gives you a pixel density of 355ppi, up there with the current high-end devices. That’s reflected in the visual experience of BB10, which is nice and sharp, with plenty of refinement, and you don't need to zoom all the time, as fine text is rendered very well.

The display is bright enough to remain visible in bright sunlight and although it's reflective and attracts fingerprints, they’re easily wiped off. Throwing pictures and video through the screen is also great too: it's vibrant and colours are nice and punchy.

BlackBerry 10: Gesture navigation

But hardware is only half the picture here. The BlackBerry 10 software launches on the Z10: it’s a glittering showcase of what to expect from BlackBerry handsets in the future. It’s based around a new way of interacting with your device and as you’ll have noticed, there has been no mention of navigation buttons in the sections on design or hardware.

That’s because BlackBerry is differentiating itself from the rest of the smartphone world by doing away with them. Sure, it was a feature of the PlayBook too, and much of what we see in BB10 evolves from the BlackBerry tablet.

So, rather than returning to a central home page or menu, BlackBerry is pushing something they call BlackBerry Flow. Essentially this is just the basis for navigation and it’s all centred around gestures.

The main gesture is swiping up from the bottom over the BlackBerry logo on the Z10 which takes you to the "active frames" view. This is, in essence, how navigation and multitasking is handled, because in this area you can then swipe right to access BlackBerry Hub (messages of all types), left to get to your apps, or simply tap on one of the running app frames to return to it.

So, is it very different? No, it isn’t a huge departure. The active frames are pretty much what Android's "recent apps" gives you, but the way it's all strung together is unique. Swiping up will first of all give you a "peek" at your notification icons.

The advantage that the UI holds is that everything is basically accessible after that first gesture and certainly it feels like a better multitasking approach than iOS gives you. But BlackBerry doesn't seem to have targeted speed of navigation in BB10. The swipe from one app page to the next seems strangely sedate, unlike the crisp snap you'll find in other operating systems. So while BlackBerry has made BB10 different, it's not necessarily faster or less effort to actually use. You can jump from one page of apps to the next, or back to messages and this is very fast, so it's not that BB10 can't go quickly, it's that someone decided to make it leisurely.

But from the active frames view, you also have access to the camera and universal search. Universal search can be tailored to your liking, and will not only search your device - contacts, messages, calendars -but can then be prompted to extend that search wider - the web, maps, apps. It's a great feature. You can also access the camera directly here, as you can from the lock screen, which is always handy.

BlackBerry Hub

Combining gestures by swiping up and to the right takes you through to BlackBerry Hub. This is one of the features that those who use messaging services heavily will appreciate. For a couple of generations, BlackBerry OS has offered an integrated inbox, which is at a basic level what the BB Hub is.

It’s evolved, allowing you to easily sign into a number of services, with support for lots of different email platforms, as well as major social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. This will then deliver messages into one area so you can see quickly what’s going on in the world. Incorporated are those social notifications, along with things like alerts from BlackBerry World, so BlackBerry Hub really is a one-stop-shop for communication.

For a long time messaging has been the foundation of the BlackBerry and that hasn’t changed: it’s still a great experience. Core to messaging is BlackBerry Messenger, the famous BBM. This is BlackBerry’s own messaging service and one that has lots of merits. What was once an IM platform has evolved and the integration of video now means it’s set to compete with things like FaceTime on iOS.

The BBM experience is good: we like that you can see when a message has been delivered, as well as read, so you know if it’s getting though to the other person. Bringing video calling catapults this into the modern era, but the limitation of being stuck on the device is a problem: FaceTime, at least, offers desktop integration, and a third-party app like Skype has cross-platform features, although it has to be said, BBM feels faster and more dynamic in daily use.

Skype and WhatsApp, which will open up cross-platform support for BB10, are promised as coming in the future, however BBM's appeal is in its integration as much as anything else, which other services don't really get close to - or haven't in the past.

With a number of services supported, it's easy to get started with your existing contacts, calendars and email. In the account settings there's the option to add accounts, with the advanced settings giving you Exchange, Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo, and manual IMAP, POP, CalDAV and CardDAV, so you can find your own way if you don't want to leave it to the automatic process.

Generally this all worked very well for us, only coming unstuck with recognising multiple calendar accounts in a Google account. Try as we might, we've not been able to get the second calendar to appear, something we'd previously used the Google Sync app to bypass. We're sure there will be a solution.

Apps and BlackBerry World

With the launch of every new platform comes the great debate about apps. The argument is clear though, some want lots of apps; some are happy with core functions. For many smartphone users, however, the experience changes drastically with the arrival of more and more intuitive apps.

At a core level, the BlackBerry Z10 comes with a number of preinstalled apps, including those for the main supported social networks: Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and LinkedIn. They integrate in BlackBerry Hub, which is great and you can quickly reply to messages there, rather than moving backwards and forwards between apps.

The Twitter app stands out as one that feels incomplete: there are some quirks in the app that almost beggar belief. For example, the image previews that the app shows are all square. It takes the image posted to Twitter and changes the aspect, as shown below (compared with Android). There also seems to be no control over how often the app synchronises: the settings contain nothing other than legal notices and fluff.

Twitter apps: BlackBerry 10 (left), Android (right)

Moving over to the selection of apps in BlackBerry World, it was a telling sign that BlackBerry highlighted big-name apps to come. On one hand, when customers have a choice of platform, you don't really have the luxury of delaying, you have to launch with the premium apps that people expect. But on the other hand we won't be too critical of BlackBerry. There is a wide array of apps on offer and a commitment from all sides to get more apps on the platform: Kindle, Skype, WhatsApp, and more are promised, but looking for Netflix, eBay, Amazon highlight that there is a long way to go.

What we will say is that there seems already to be a lot of rubbish in BlackBerry World. Rubbish might sound harsh, so we'll qualify: there are a lot of paid-for apps offering you third-party access to a service that should be free, like Google Maps. It's these things we stumble across, rather than the premium apps we want to find.

What we don't have on BlackBerry is an app experience that really showcases the platform. Windows Phone launched with a fanfare, demonstrating apps that were unique in design, beautiful in many cases. Instead BlackBerry World is filling with Android ports. While that's a practical solution to bringing apps to the platform, we can't help thinking that customers could just have those apps on Android on an existing handset. BlackBerry needs innovation in apps to be distinct.

Getting lost

BlackBerry Maps on BB10 offers turn-by-turn navigation as well as the normal searching functions and browsing. There's no street view or 3D buildings or anything else, just street mapping, but we can live with that as long as we get where we're going.

Searching isn't fantastic and seems to lack the power that Google Maps offers. For example, searching for Nando's returned results 3 miles away rather than 300 yards away, probably because of an out-of-date database. Embarrassingly for BlackBerry, a quick Google search found our local peri-peri restaurant in a flash.

This doesn't reflect well on BlackBerry Maps, but that's not the end of the troubles. The Maps app offers a lot of clever options. You can set favourite locations, you can access contacts with address information and use this to find locations quickly without plugging in the address.

Unfortunately you hit the same search woes: accessing our contacts, even when we were supplying a full address with postcode, BB Maps would serve up suggestions using only part of that address, so it's a rather hit-and-miss experience. In one case we had seven suggestions, none of which were correct.

The same applies when contacts have an address. Clicking on the address sees Maps open, but then you have no information that there's a search taking place, you just appear at the location after a lengthy pause. This is inconsistent with searching from the universal search option, which tells you what's going on with a spinning dial.

Moving on, you get turn-by-turn navigation as standard. This, like Google Maps, will let you find somewhere and then punch a button to get driving directions. Navigation is adequate: route selection is perfunctory and it misses the tricks that you'll get from something like TomTom, however re-routing is fast and we got to where we were going.

Things to be 'appy about

There are, it has to be said, some very nice features of BB10. The "active frame" for File Manager, for example, gives you storage stats: showing how much space you have in each location for storage. The same applies to the AccuWeather app: back out to active frames and the weather display conveniently fits the window so you can see what it says at a glance. Contacts will revert to a contact image, so visually, it's nice to look at.

The Story Maker app too, although it might sound gimmicky, will very easily string together photos, video and music, adding titles and making a quick fun animated slideshow with a few button presses. Almost everything is done for you and, dare we say it, it feels like the sort of thing Apple would do. This perhaps demonstrates that BlackBerry is at least thinking about consumer appeal.

Sharing is widely integrated and BB10 is happy to share with plenty of services, leveraging all those accounts to connect you with the outside world. It's closer to the Android approach than it is to the rather cagey iOS route and we like it a lot.

Then you have things like Docs To Go that will support your files, so you can pick up a Word doc from Dropbox, open it and sensibly edit it, all of which is much appreciated at a native level without having to buy additional apps or install anything, making working on the go easy.

Copy and paste works well enough and you can copy most things, but we're not so keen on the cursor placement ring, which seems to want you to put your finger over where you want the cursor, so you can't see what you're doing.

When the dots join up in BB10 it's a real pleasure, but sometimes they don't. For example, if you see an image you like on a website, you can save it locally, but then it opens from the File Manager with only the option to share it. Open the Pictures app and you then get the option to edit it too. Choose to edit a photo after you take it and once you save, you're booted back out to the active frames view, leaving you to go back into Pictures, or Camera, to do what you were going to do with that image before you edited it.

Keyboard

With the physical keyboard gone, attention turns to the touchscreen experience. The experience on the BlackBerry Z10 is very different from previous touchscreen BlackBerry devices and, we're happy to report, very good. That's critical to ensure that people aren't turned off instantly, as the BlackBerry keyboard here is as good as you'll find on competitor devices.

Visually it reflects the BlackBerry design, broken up with horizontal bars and keys of a decent size. They're easy to hit when typing rapidly, but it's the smart features that we like the most (and which suggests that SwiftKey drives it). First up you get suggestions as you type. That's nothing new, although these suggestions are generally better than rivals', offering up contextually relevant words. The words appear on the keyboard itself, and swiping up selects that word.

There are two options for this: the first (default) is for the next word to appear above the next letter you might type: for example, the word "next" will appear above the letter "n". The second is to have all the suggestions in the top row. We find this the better option, as they are easier to spot and select, in our opinion, but that might be because we're used to that system from other devices.

There is also auto-correction - again nothing new - as well as recognition of when you've missed a space. In many cases, tapping the spacebar will give you the correct word, so typing isn't just a breeze, it's actually a pleasure.

One slight oddity, perhaps, is that the keyboard always shows CAPS, although will type in both upper and lower case as appropriate. This follows the convention from hardware keyboards in the BB family and behaves in the same way: a long press on a key will give you a capital letter.

This makes it easy to put caps on things like names, but means you don't have such easy access to alternative characters such as punctuation or numbers. It isn't always a problem though, as the keyboard will cleverly recognise some text fields, like passwords, and add the number keys along the top.

Perhaps the only criticism we have of the keyboard really comes from the point of view of the user interface design. In many places you'll find that the navigation options for the app are at the bottom of the display and using the keyboard will obscure them. Fortunately you can manually display or hide the keyboard at will, but there will be occasions where you're your moving it out of the way so you can get to the options that should fall to hand more obviously.

Entertainment: Music, Movies, Pictures

With the move into a larger device, with a great display, it's obvious that entertainment is key. BlackBerry World now contains a whole collection of content for you to consume, with music and movies and TV shows, and there's a Newsstand app for reading magazines.

The prices, though, look rather expensive: Emili Sandé's Our Version of Events is £5.99 on Google Play, £8.00 on BlackBerry World. Taken 2 is £11.99 (HD) in Google Play, and £15.99 on BlackBerry World. At least you have to option to access this content, on the device if you want it, but BlackBerry needs to remember that cash is king and make these prices competitive.

You can sideload content of course and we found that typical MP4 files played very happily, so if you have existing DRM-free content then the BlackBerry Z10 makes a great video player. There's a current lack of apps like a native BBC iPlayer app or Netflix, but with Flash support in the browser, you still have the option of accessing content online, if a site is optimised for mobile browsers as the BBC's is.

On the music front we like the clean music player app and you get features like lock screen control, meaning you can skip tracks after a press of the volume button. Of course, the mute button also works as a play/pause button, and you can set the volume buttons to skip tracks with a long press which is handy.

Sound quality is good through a set of decent third-party headphone, but we weren't particularly taken with the hard plastic in-ear buds in the box. There's no sign of any equaliser and we like the clarity of the music delivered. It's not too bassy, although we dare say some might want the option to alter this.

We like the fact that YouTube (the app is just a link to YouTube mobile) will play music with the screen off. That's because it's playing from the browser, so conceivably, any browser-accessible music service (we signed into Google Music) will also play, although you have to head back into the browser to control it.

Sharing is possible, allowing you to play content on compatible devices and allowing access over your network, with controls to designate what types of content (music, movies, pictures) is shared, as well as the HDMI out.

Browser

The browser experience on BB10 is good and leverages the space that the Z10 display gives you. Loading pages and navigation is fast and support for Flash (which you can disable) means you get a very complete web experience. Tabs are easy to handle and you can open lots. We got to 20, then stopped.

They aren't handled as well as Chrome on Android and you don't get the benefit of additional features like syncing with your desktop. There is a private browsing mode, however, but it has to be toggled, so it's more fiddly than Incognito mode on Google's hero mobile browser.

However, we found the browser to be stable enough, with nice slick zooming, a convenient Reader view to give you just the text, and universal search from the address bar. This defaults to Bing searches, although you can opt to use Google, Bing or Yahoo if searching using BB10's universal search function. Overall, it's a great, fast, browser and we found it coped with everything we threw at it.

Cameras

There's an 8-megapixel camera on the rear of the BlackBerry Z10 and BlackBerry has been really pushing the photo capabilities of this handset. In the spotlight is a clever shooting mode called Time Shift. The aim of this is to be able to get perfect shots from groups of people, by letting you select the best shot for each of the individual faces in the photo.

It works by capturing a series of images, but then identifies each face and lets you choose the best face from each of the shots. This you can repeat, until you have a complete set of smiling (or grimacing) people. Sometimes the edit might bleed in a little background colour, but otherwise it works, and it's incredibly easy to use.

Of course you have regular shooting modes for stills, with burst shooting and image stabilisation offered. Otherwise control comes down to whether the flash fires, and the aspect, and that's about it. It's simple and you're not overwhelmed with options.

Focusing is automatic and pretty fast, even in lower light, and didn't throw up too many problems for us when testing the camera. There's the odd issue, like failure to focus when too close, or identifying that focus has been obtained when it hasn't, but the majority of the time it's fine.

However, touching the screen captures the image, so what you have in focus is what you get. A long press will confirm focus, taking the shot when you lift your finger off, but once again, it offers focus only on the central reticule. You can use volume up as the shutter button too, which we found the better option, giving more precise control.

The results are average. In good conditions you get reasonable shots, but low-light performance isn't great, with indoor shots being marred with noise. That's not uncommon in smartphone cameras, but the BB Z10 feels a generation behind in this aspect.

A front-facing camera with a 2-megapixel sensor is in place for video conferencing or the odd self-portrait. The low light performance is poor on this camera and best avoided, as the results are pretty mushy.

On the video front, you have the option of image stabilisation again, although we found this gives the appearance of wobble, very evident on the screen, with the display looking slightly behind the action in front of you, although this doesn't all come through to the video itself. Static video gives you plenty of detail, with the option of 1080 or 720 HD modes, and autofocus will keep things sharp, but there's plenty of pulsing as it tweaks focus, again, making video capture feel a generation behind current smartphones.

Battery life, calling

The stamina of the battery is one of the key battlegrounds for smartphones. What use is a phone that can’t last the distance? It’s also an area where the BlackBerry Z10 disappoints. The Z10 is powered by a 1800mAh cell, but getting it through a full day is something of a challenge.

We’ve been using three different handsets while testing the battery for this review and they’ve all been through numerous charging cycles. All our Z10 models, however, display poor battery life. Sitting in standby, ie, connected to Wi-Fi but with the display off, we’ve found that the Z10 will get through 75 per cent of its battery life in a day. We set the Z10 alongside the HTC One SV, signed into the same accounts, serving the same notifications, and the HTC used only 25 per cent in the same time. Sure, you can turn down the frequency of syncing, turn push off and so on, but you’re then telling this device to not do what it’s good at.

What that translates into in real terms is a phone that needs to stay near power, or you’ll have to carry a spare battery. That’s going to be something of a disappointment to Bold users used to getting through the day easily.

On the calling side of things, however, we've nothing to complain about. As an actual phone, the call quality is good with the Z10 and there are the normal in-call options. We found there was plenty of volume and did not experience any dropped calls.

Courtesy : http://www.pocket-lint.com

Another iOS 6.1 Bug: Anyone Can Bypass Your iPhone Lock Screen With An iOS 6.1 Trick

2013-02-15T15:27:00.000+05:30

Adding to the woes of Apple's already-troubled software update, a security flaw in iOS 6.1 allows anyone to bypass an iPhone's lock screen and access anyone's iDevice.

With this iOS 6.1 trick, anyone can bypass your iPhone's lock screen, access your data, check your voicemail, view or modify contacts and look through your photos and more, The Verge reports. The method was explained in a You Tube video posted by a user by the name videosdebarraquito. The method involves "making (and immediately cancelling) an emergency call and holding down the power button twice. We followed the steps and managed to access the phone app on two UK iPhone 5s running iOS 6.1," the repA similar bug was noted with iOS 4.1 and was fixed by the iOS 4.2 update.

This is the latest in the series of bugs that came along with the iOS 6.1 software update. iPhone users have been battling bad 3G connectivity and fast battery drain ever since the software upgrade. As iOS users, especially iPhone 4S owners, were unable to receive or make calls, send or get texts or connect to the Internet after the upgrade, a couple of mobile carriers, including Vodafone UK and 3 Austria warned its members not to upgrade to iOS 6.1.

These issues were followed by another bug that apparently affects the Microsoft Exchange E-mail Servers. The software update has been causing iOS devices to continuously loop when synchronizing a recurring calendar meeting invitation on Microsoft Exchange. Many enterprises came out with warning notes for its customers against an iOS 6.1 update.

Although Apple successfully fixed some issues related to iPhone 4s with its iOS 6.1.1 update, the Exchange bug remained unsolved. Later Microsoft published an official support document detailing the workarounds for the issue that involved blocking and throttling iOS users. It was also reported that iPhone 5 users were affected with performance issues including 3G connectivity; however, the Apple update did not include any solutions for iPhone 5 owners.

Meanwhile, an Apple statement says the company has identified a fix and will make it available in an upcoming software update. "In the meantime, you can avoid this bug by not responding to an exception to a recurring event on your iOS device," the statement says.ort says.

Check out the iOS 6.1 trick in the video below.

Besides Aakash, Indian govt. wishes for a GPS wristwatch to address safety concerns?

2013-02-13T01:36:00.000+05:30

Even as the common masses wait for the mythical ultra low-cost Aakash tablet, IT and Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal has started talking about another 'low-cost revolutionary device' - a GPS-enabled wristwatch that is supposed to ensure women's safety.

While talking to the media at an event in Delhi, Sibal said he wants a wristwatch, which should have feature such as video recording, alarm and capable of calling up dedicated lines – and all that should come in a price less than Rs. 1,000.

The minister recently revealed the government has already reached out to telecom equipment manufacturer ITI to manufacture the GPS-enabled wristwatch. The first prototype is expected to be ready by mid-2013.

The concept for the GPS-enabled wristwatch comes in the wake of the recent Delhi gang-rape incident, which triggered nationwide protests demanding measures to ensure women's safety and stricter laws against sexual crimes in the country.

While the intention behind the GPS-enabled wristwatch is definitely noble, the promise made by Mr. Sibal unfortunately looks to be far from being reality. Taking into account the record of the Aakash tablet project, it is really difficult for us to believe that GPS-enabled wristwatch with above-mentioned features will ever see light of the day.

It's not that GPS-enabled wristwatches aren't there in the market or a device with such features isn't feasible. But technically, the device with GPS and video capture capabilities looks impossible at the given below-Rs. 1,000 price point. And even if the government squeezes in all of them, are we going to compromise with the quality for the sake of the price?

The government has been left red-faced over its unfulfilled promises and a spate of controversies around the Aakash tablet. While the Aakash 1 was a huge let down, the Aakash 2, with improved features, is yet to see the light of the day.

The Aakash project debacle is a great example for why the government shouldn't make tall claims and hyped-up promises, which in reality always ends up as a pipe dream, and only very few make it to real-world success stories. Why there's an obsession with delivering the 'cheapest' product to the world?

Such unfulfilled and unrealistic promises have only dented India's reputation at the international stages. But what is the solution? First of all, there has to be more clear vision behind such projects and greater focus should be given on execution – where we have struggled badly. One proper planned and executed project could revive faith of people in the government and also set a global example.

That being said, is India being too ambitious by coining such 'unrealistic' devices? Is it high time, we deliver and not just boast about the 'cheapest' tech marvels? What do you think? Let us know in the comments section below:

Portronics introduces new portable device 'Electropen' in India

2012-09-10T19:48:00.001+05:30

Portronics has introduced a new portable device called Electropen. The new device captures users' handwritten notes into its memory, converts them to editable text and transfers them to a PC. Portronics says its Electropen can used to write on any ordinary/normal paper. Moreover, refill used in the pen is also a normal refill. The Portronics Electropen is priced at Rs. 7,999 and is available across the country.

Portronics says the main highlight of the pen is that it can be used as a transmitter and the clip as a receiver. The Pen works in two modes, online and offline.

The Offline mode works where the user is just carrying a pen and the clip attached to a notebook, a diary or just a stack of papers. According to Portronics, the offline mode is useful for taking quiet notes. Moreover, all the notes are captured in the clip's memory and can be sent to a PC.

The Online mode works with the Receiver or Clip being attached to the computer while the user takes notes. It covers several options like the drawing or tracing mode. Anything you draw on paper is transferred to the computer screen in real time. Another option with online working is the teaching mode where the laptops are connected to the projector and one can simply write on a normal paper, which can be seen real time on the projector screen by others. There is also a signature capture mode, through which users can have the digitalised signatures.

Other features:

Technology: Ultrasound and infrared
Ink refill: Standard refill (67mm long x 2,35mm diameter)
Receiver: Rechargeable battery (about 8 hours of continuous writing)
Pen battery: About 30 hours of continuous writing
Coverage area: A4/letter size
Storage capacity: A4/letter size documents

Courtesy: ThinkDigit

CMOS sensor shortfall behind Galaxy Note II not having 13MP camera

2012-09-10T19:45:00.001+05:30

Prior to the unveiling of the Galaxy Note II, the Internet was abuzz with rumours suggesting that Samsung will utilise a 13MP camera in its latest offering. However, when the brand unveiled this handset, it came loaded with an 8MP sensor instead. A report by Unwired View has information received via a Korean website Ddaily reveals the reason behind Samsung’s decision to employ an 8MP sensor in the phablet.

As per the author of the report, Florin, “Samsung was seriously planning to put a 13MP rear camera on the Note II. But it just couldn’t get enough CMOS sensors from Sony for that. Interestingly, Sony is supplying 13MP CMOS sensors for LG’s new Optimus G, and it looks like there won’t be any shortages here. Apparently, LG (through its subsidiary LG Innotek) has secured enough sensors from Sony since early 2012.”

If this is a disheartening point for adopters of the Samsung Galaxy Note II, then they need not worry too much as this handset uses the same sensor found on the Galaxy S III. This handset has a good camera, and when we reviewed the handset we found that indoors and in low light shots, the single LED flash does a decent job at capturing the subject, as long as it’s not too far away from the camera. Outdoor shots were overall good too and there were no major qualms to write about.

In the Galaxy Note II, Samsung has thrown in a new feature that can potentially change the way mobile phones are used. Apart from the facts that it features the Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) OS out of the box, and is powered by a 1.6GHz quad-core processor, the major talking point about the Galaxy Note II is that it features an all-new Air View feature. Samsung states that Air View allows users to hover with the S Pen over an email, S Planner, image gallery, or video to preview the content without having to open it. This feature enables users to quickly search and see more information in one view without screen transitions.

Here is a quick look at the highlighted features of the Samsung Galaxy Note II:

5.5-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen with a 1280 x 720 pixel density
4G LTE, EDGE, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4 and 5GHz), Wi-Fi HT40, NFC
GPS with GLONASS and A-GPS support
Bluetooth v4.0 with USB 2.0 Host
8 megapixel AF/ Touchfocus camera with full HD video recording and playback, 1.9MP VT Camera, BSI front facing camera
16GB, 32GB and 64GB versions, all with expandable support up to 64GB
2GB RAM
MHL for AV out

Courtesy: Tech2

Nokia Lumia 920 pricing and release date revealed

2012-09-10T19:31:00.000+05:30

At the Nokia World 2012 event held a few days ago, Nokia revealed everything about the new Lumia handsets except their launch dates and prices. Rumours indicated earlier that Nokia would launch the Lumia 920 in global markets by November. As per a recent report, this handset will be priced at Euro 600 ($758), which translates to approximately Rs 42,000.

The author of WMPowerUser, Surur states, “The Nokia Lumia 920 will be released in Germany in mid-October and will retail for 600 Euro ($758, £476). The Austrian art magazine ‘Future Zone‘ reported that Nokia wants to deliver the Lumia 920 from the middle of October in Germany. They expect the handset to initially launch only in a few countries, much like the roll-out of the Nokia Lumia 800, before being available everywhere. The handset will be introduced first in Germany, France, Britain, Italy and Russia, before becomes available in late October in Poland. The Scandinavian countries, Portugal and Spain will receive the handset a short time later.”

The report adds that two weeks later, the Lumia 820, Nokia’s second Windows Phone 8 smartphone will be launched at a price of around Euro 450 ($568 or £357). This pricing would translate to roughly Rs 31,500 in India.

This report would also push forward the time frame the handsets are expected to debut. If Nokia aims to reclaim its throne as a top mobile manufacturer, then it needs to get the timing of the handset’s launch right as Apple may probably launch the iPhone 5 in the second half of September.

The launch of the iPhone 5 is likely to create a major stir in the smartphone market as analysts are predicting the brand to sell 10 million units of the device within the first 10 days of its launch itself.

In an investors' note released recently, analyst Gene Munster projects iPhone 5 sales of anywhere between 6 million and 10 million from September 21 to the end of the month. Last year, Apple sold 4 million iPhone 4S units during the phone's first three-day weekend in October. Sales of 10 million units in one week or so seem attainable this year, as long as supply meets demand. Overall, the analyst is eyeing total iPhone sales of at least 26 million units for the full September quarter, higher than the average Wall Street estimate of 22 million to 23 million.

Past rumours indicated that Nokia would price the Lumia 920 to match the iPhone. It will be interesting to see how Nokia fares in the market especially since it has a lot backing on the Windows Phone 8 OS.

Apart from Apple, Nokia also faces competition from the likes of Samsung, which also has a Windows Phone 8, the ATIV S, in its artillery, which will go head to head with these handsets.

Lenovo launches ThinkPad X1 Carbon Ultrabook in India

2012-09-10T17:25:00.000+05:30

Lenovo has announced the launch of the world’s lightest business Ultrabook – the ThinkPad X1 Carbon, highlighting 20 years of ThinkPad innovation and kicking off the ThinkPad brand’s 20th anniversary celebrations. ThinkPad X1 Carbon is created for those who demand the highest levels of mobility, performance, entertainment and design.

Made from carbon fibre, the X1 Carbon is the latest notebook from the ThinkPad stable. This new notebook features the latest 3rd generation Intel Core processor. It comes with Intel Turbo Boost 2.0 and Lenovo’s RapidResume and RapidConnect technology to enhance performance. It weighs less than three pounds and features a high resolution 14-inch display on a 13-inch laptop design, while also offering a multi-gesture glass surface touchpad, HD face-tracking camera, dual array microphones and Dolby-tuned audio for improved sound quality.

Commenting on the occasion, Amar Babu, Managing Director, Lenovo India, said, “We are extremely proud to celebrate 20 years of continuous innovation with the ThinkPad. Lenovo India has seen phenomenal growth overall as well as in the Commercial business where we have sustained leadership consistently for 2 quarters. With the launch of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon, we are confident of continuing this rich legacy and offering performance users a product that will help them accomplish their professional and business goals.”

“With ThinkPad turning 20 this year, it stands amongst the few fortunate brands to achieve an iconic stature with loyal fans that are passionate about each generation of ThinkPad products,”said Rahul Agarwal, Executive Director, Commercial Business segment, Lenovo India.“Worldwide, Lenovo is also the No 1 Commercial Portable PC vendor (According to the IDC Asia/Pacific Quarterly PC Tracker CYQ2 2012). The debut of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon is the pinnacle of our ongoing quest to push the boundaries on superlative design and engineering.”

While being light due to its carbon fibre construction, it retains ThinkPad’s renowned durability for use in practically any environment. Equipped with optional 3G mobile broadband and hotspot technology, it lets users stay connected virtually anywhere, anytime.

Here's a look at the specs and features of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Ultrabook:

Portability:

The world’s lightest 14-inch Ultrabook, weighing less than 1.36kg
Measures 8mm at the thinnest point
Up to 6.3 hours of battery life
RapidCharge delivers 80 percent charge (5 hours of battery) in 30 minutes
EE 3 with RapidDrive (up to 256GB SSD) boots 40 percent faster than non-optimised Windows 7 PCs
RapidConnect allows users to go from zero to connected by maintaining wireless connections even when the laptop is closed

Ergonomics:

Carbon fibre-reinforced material provides a durable construction
6-row precision ThinkPad keyboard with backlit option offers improved ergonomics and 30 percent larger surface area of keys
Multi-gesture glass touchpad is 37 percent larger than previous-generation ThinkPad X1

Security:

Business class protection with available Accidental Damage Protection, international warranty service and optional battery warranty upgrades
Enterprise level Lenovo Transition Services automate time-consuming deployment tasks
Carbon fibre roll cage provides strength, stiffness and protection from accidents

The ThinkPad X1 Carbon is available in India at starting price of Rs. 85,000. For more information on this offering from Lenovo, click here.

Courtesy: Tech2

New range of iMac desktops could be in the works.

2012-09-10T17:12:00.001+05:30

When Apple took to the stage at the Worldwide Developers Conference earlier this year, the brand had taken the wraps off its latest notebooks. The notebook that took the centre stage was the MacBook Pro with Retina Display capabilities. This new notebook was praised the world over for reasons much more than its above average resolution. Apple's desktop line-up took a backseat, and did not warrant a mention at the event, though it did receive a slight bump up in specifications. Many rumours since then indicate that Apple could be making a new range of desktops. A recent report by Fox News backs these speculations by claiming that a new range of iMacs are in the works.

As per the report, the author Clayton Morris states, “Multiple sources tell me that a new lineup of desktop machines from Apple is imminent. A quick look around Amazon's website shows dried up supplies for the 27-inch version. The popular MacRumors website looked at Apple store supplies and found dwindling availability as well, although 21-inch iMacs do appear to be widely available.”

Apple may add Retina Display to its upcoming iMacs. However, the report quotes Instapaper creator Marco Arment who stated in a blog post, “I’ve now heard from multiple sources that while an iMac update is indeed coming this fall, it will not have Retina displays.”

While we may not witness a high end resolution on the next iMac desktops, some hardware specifications may surely make the cut. These include the new Ivy Bridge processors, improved graphics chips, USB 3.0 along with expanded SSD capacities. Though there may be some major improvements, something that will not make the cut will be the optical dries, a feature which Apple may ditch altogether when they upgrade their desktops.

Commenting on the removal of the optical disc drive, Apple Insider states, “The appearance of new Mac Pro and iMac models in the USB booting support list doesn't definitively mean the models won't have optical drives, as it also lists MacBook and MacBook Pro models that do incorporate an optical drive. At the same time, Apple has clearly indicated in the newest Mac mini and Retina Display MacBook Pro that it plans to get rid of optical disc drives as soon as possible across the board, providing an external USB drive as an option for users who need one. Users increasingly have fewer opportunities to use optical drives, as the bulk of third party software is now available as a digital download either directly from the vendor or through Apple's App Store. Apple also sees digital distribution as the future of music and movies, as exemplified in Apple TV, which has never included an optical drive.”

In June, in a letter to a Mac Pro customer regarding a concern about the Mac Pro refresh, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook has stated that Apple was working on an update for that particular line-up of desktops. He stated, “Our Pro customers like you are really important to us. Although we didn’t have a chance to talk about a new Mac Pro at today’s event, don’t worry as we’re working on something really great for later next year. We also updated the current model today. We’ve been continuing to update Final Cut Pro X with revolutionary pro features like industry leading multi-cam support and we just updated Aperture with incredible new image adjustment features. We also announced a MacBook Pro with a Retina Display that is a great solution for many pros.”

Courtesy: Tech2

Asus ROG TYTAN CG8580 gaming desktop launched in India

2012-09-10T17:02:00.000+05:30

Asus recently introduced a new Republic Of Gamers TYTAN machine to its line-up – ROG CG8580, which is powered by an Intel Core i7-3770Kprocessor and features Windows 7 Home Premium operating software. It comes equipped with a quad-core CPU boosting and twin 128GB SATA3 SSD with RAID 0 for 4x faster data access speed. To assist gamers, it includes HD visuals and audio powered by a GTX 680 graphics card with 2GB GDDR5 and ASUS Xonar DX audio card.

“Our latest offering, Republic Of Gamers Tytan CG580 desktop system, is loaded with high-end components featuring the latest Intel Core i7-3770K processor and NVIDIA GTX680 graphics card for the gamers always looking for the perfect gaming personal computer. High definition audio codec support will help users to have a superior gaming experience along with the availability of NVIDIA GeForce graphics processors. Features including LucidLogix Virtu MVP improves graphics performance by around 60%, and also increase video conversion speed by three times which makes it one of the most powerful gaming desktops in the market,” said Mr Vinay Shetty, Country Manager - Component Business, ASUS (India).

ASUS ROG CG8580 launched in India for Rs. 1,58,000

Asus ROG CG8580 features Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 enabling processor cores to run faster than the base operating frequency. Asus claims that with Intel Quick Sync Video Technology, creating, editing, convering and uploading videos become easy and quick. In addition, LucidLogix Virtu MVP helps in accelerating graphics performance by up to 60 percent and triples video conversion speeds.

The ROG CG8580 features the 3rd Generation 22nm Intel Ivy-Bridge with Intel Core i7-3770K that enables the CPU to reach a maximum stable speed at 4.6GHz and also helps in providing high definition graphics with DirectX 11 and Intel Quick Sync Video Technology, making the CG8580 capable of doing things faster. Exclusive quad-core CPU boosting and the Turbo Gear instantly increase CPU speed at any time, without rebooting.

An NVIDIA GeForce GTX680 graphics card provides unprecedented 4-display capabilities with 3D Vision Surround plus one extra display. The CG8580 also features 2GB GDDR5 video memory, while GPU Boost helps in maximising clock speed and Adaptive Vertical Sync for optimised frame rates for true-to-life images at 2560 x 1600 resolutions. Asus claims that the Xonar DX audio card powered by Dolby Home Theater technologies helps in delivering up to 35 times cleaner audio quality (116dB SNR) than on board codec. It enables you to hear loud and clear and hear the enemy before one sees them.

Asus claims that the ROG TYTAN is inspired by ballistic missile submarines, crafted for inside-out gaming top gear. It is equipped with the DEFCON indicator that features with blue and red LED lights. Asus claims that the black switch on ROG keyboard is of the toughest quality, which provides faster registered key presses and helps increase users’ actions per minute. The ROG Keyboard offers a lifecycle of 50 million key presses per key. ROG gaming mouse features 4000 dpi laser sensor with high precision tracking speed. Custom-built gamer UI, customisable DPI and button functions and adjustable mouse weight optimises the gaming demand easily.

The ROG CG8580 is available in India for Rs. 1,58,000 and comes with a 2-year warranty. For more information, click here.

Courtesy: Tech2

Next gen iPod touch may come in various colours

2012-09-10T16:41:00.001+05:30

Apple is believed to be introducing its next generation of iPods when the brand takes the stage at the Apple media event scheduled for September 12, 2012. A report a few days ago stated that there could be at least two new updated iPod lines which will be showcased at the event and possibly there could be a third as well. The third iPod line-up could refer to the updated iPod touch and it could feature a display the same size as the next generation iPhone aka the iPhone 5. A report by 9to5Mac sheds some more light on what to expect and has categorically provided a break up of what type of iPod will receive what update.

As per the report, the author Mark Gurman states that sources have informed them that the iPod shuffle will not receive any major change but will be available in eight colour options, up from five that are currently available in the market. The price of this iPod will cost around $49.

May come in multiple colour options

Last year, Apple merely added a new software update to its iPod nano and from the looks of it, this all could change with the brand probably launching a redesigned version of this version of the portable media player. The report states that since it features a different codename from last year’s version, one can expect it to have a different design as well as internal changes. This model too may come in eight colour options just like the upcoming iPod shuffle. The author states that the price point of this model should remain the same as last year’s model.

Commenting on the next generation iPod touch devices, sources have informed 9to5Mac that Apple may retain last years model but improve upon it a bit by adding the new smaller Dock Connector, new packaging as well as iOS 6 pre-installed.

Apple may launch two higher-end models with redesigned looks and they will be available in the market for approximately $299 and $399. The report states, “We believe these to be redesigned versions of the two top iPod touch models. Though, we’re not sure if the current 32GB and 64GB capacities will actually be the same in the late-2012 models. We’re also told that these new $299 and $399 iPod models (which we assume are new iPod touches) will come in multiple variations. Perhaps, for the first time, the new iPod touches will come in various colors, but that’s just what we’re inferring, not confirming.”

A report had surfaced in July indicating that Apple was working on the 2012 edition of the iPod touch and it will have 4-inch LCD, which is the same size as the upcoming iPhone 5. CPU or other spec is considered to be same as iPhone 4S, but it has different back-case design. Like last year’s edition, the 2012 iPod touch is expected to be launched in white and black options.

This will come as some interesting news for those wanting an upgrade, as a larger display means more room for viewing content such as games as well as videos. The iPod touch, over the years, has become a major rival to other portable gaming consoles such as the PSP or even the recently launched PS Vita and this is due to the wide variety of games available in the App Store. Another major advantage the iPod touch has over its rivals is that the games available are a lot cheaper than those available for portable gaming consoles.

Courtesy: Tech2