TechnoManiacz

Mozilla Enters The Competition In Smart Phone OS

2012-12-22T19:16:00.000+05:30

Mozilla, The most reputed free software community is going to join the smart phone OS war by launching its own brand of mobile OS. Mozilla is attracting the world by announcing that it is planning to launch its HTML5 OS, an open source operating system for smart phones and tablets in 2013. This HTML5 OS is now officially named as Firefox OS by Mozilla.

Mozilla actually started "Boot to Gecko" project in the year 2011 and the main goal of this project is to develop a complete, standalone operating system for the open web.This project focused on current limitations of web development on mobile such as lack of javascript & cookies, speed of internet access, broken pages and compressed pages on mobile devices etc...Later in the year 2012 "Boot to Gecko" was rebranded as Firefox OS

The system's architecture has a Linux kernel running a thin layer of services and a web browser layered on top of that.Firefox OS works by integrating with device's hardware through pure HTML5 applications. Firefox OS app's are developed using pure HTML5, CSS, Javascript & C++. This feature will significantly reduce the gap between the web-developers and the native app developers and allows web-developers to build app's. All applications then use web technologies and the browser to display. HTML5 has the capability to reproduce any app that you can see on a typical smartphone. Apps can also be cached to your phone, so you can access some interesting apps even if you loss data connection.

Mozilla took support of leading global network operators Deutsche Telekom (Germany), Etisalat (Abu Dhabi), Smart (the Philippines), Sprint (USA), Telecom Italia (Italy), Telefonica (Spain) and Telenor (Norway) for the launch of Mobile OS.The first mobile devices with Firefox OS will be manufactured by TCL communication Technology(Alcatel) and ZTE. Mozilla will power its smartphones with Qualcomm's Snapdragon processors. The first Firefox OS featured smartphones are expected to launch in Brazil by early 2013 through Telefonica's commercial brand, Vivo.

Mozilla released it's under-development version of Firefox OS in the month of July 2012. You can check the demo of the Firefox OS in the below video.

Firefox OS running on a developer phone from ZTE

In the demo video we can have a tour of its built-in Firefox web browser, phone dialer, camera, gallery and market place on a developer phone manufactured by ZTE, one of the supporter for Mozilla's OS.

Here are some screens of developer's version of Firefox OS.

The above screen is the app menu in Firefox OS. It was designed in a 4*4 grid model with almost round application icons. The below one at the bottom of the screen is task bar .

The above screen is the Firefox web browser in the OS which is a similar one that is available on Android phones.

Gallery viewer in Firefox OS, which is designed in a tiled UI model.

It is the music player in Firefox OS.

It is the video player in Firefox OS that can support the proprietary H.264 codec.

Firefox OS also includes a built-in FM-Radio application available.

Based on the some users feedback on the demo video of Firefox OS, it has some negative issues regarding its responsiveness of the OS. However, these comments can be neglected as this is the demo of the development version OS and the issues like responsiveness may be improved in later versions.

The entire MOBILE WORLD is waiting to see whether the Mozilla succeeds in giving tough competition to its fellow competitors or not. Well, in order to know whether it can succeed or not, we should view the Firefox OS in different perspectives like end-users, developers, etc...

We shall start with mobile OS providers to get a better understanding.

Mobile OS Providers:

There has been already a tough competition fought among major OS providers like Google with its Android OS, Apple with its iOS and Microsoft with its Windows OS. All the OS providers have high control over their native apps by managing them to organize at respective app stores.

But HTML5 based Firefox apps follow the policy "Write Once, Deploy everywhere " which may not work. Mozilla should also prepare itself for another competitor Tizen, the free and open source HTML5 based mobile OS. Tizen is supported by two giant companies Samsung & Intel , which makes it to be in the competition. Both Mozilla's & Tizen's motive is to bring the smart phone experience to higher proportion of population at lower cost.

Mobile Developer Community:

HTML5 apps of Firefox OS created much interest in developers due to its "Write Once, Deploy everywhere " policy. But when performance issues are considered , native apps from providers like Google, Apple & Microsoft perform much better than HTML5 based apps.

The most important issue considered by the developer is the revenue potential of the app. The native apps have more revenue potential than HTML5 based apps due their easy distribution & discoverability in the centralized app stores. The most web-based apps are advertisement supported. So, there are more chances that developers show interest in developing native apps.

End User:

End users always expect apps with high functionality & performance and ease of use. As HTML5 is an evolving technology, it may not support some features & meet user requirements and hence users still continue to show interest on native apps.

By considering the above issues we cannot depict the success or failure of Firefox OS. Although Mozilla is late in competition by few years but it still have the potential to give a tough fight to its competitors. Mozilla can acquire more users if it can improve the performance of its Firefox OS in its later versions. Moreover, Mozilla's mission is to improve the web standards and to bring the smart phone experience to higher proportion of population at lower cost but not to be a just another competitor in the mobile world.

Lets wait and see till 2013 for Firefox OS release and its response.....

Stay tuned and like our Facebook page TechnoManiacz for latest TECH updates......

Smartphones are gone, Super-phones are in!

2012-10-17T21:58:00.000+05:30

Well 2012 was a great period for smartphone growth. We saw a tremendous leap in innovation and number crunching powers in the new smartphone. And also with that we saw how sophisticated they were becoming, not just in the hardware department, but also in design. We saw some radical designs and well some, say, much "less" radical *cough* iPhone 5 *cough*.

And not just that, I have also noticed that people are now more aware than ever about smartphones and their working, be it software or hardware. Well its not surprising considering the fact that one needs to gain tonnes of knowledge before buying a new smartphone.
And it is in this interest that I have compiled this article about all the technologies coming 2013 onward that's going to make you scrap the idea of getting a new One X or S III. But, this doesn't mean the current users are going to miss any of the 'phun'. The high end devices today have enough juice to last them till the end of '13.

Here is a list of advanced hardwares that will make up a new series of Super-phones!

Processors:

ARM

I'll start off with ARM's contribution to mobile technologies with their new ARM Cortex A-15.

This is the most popular of all the tech news running around the internet and quite old, although it is something commendable considering how far Cortex A-9 has pushed the mobile market.
So whats so great about ARM Cortex A15? Lets just say ARM was studying about these SoC [System on Chips] and they finally found out some ways to iron out some kinks. And after these learning steps, these is a significant improvement in the new A15's architecture and processing capability.

Someone in ARM may have had a vision that the current gen processors just wont be good enough for whats coming up. So what's so great about A15 compared A9:

1. Performance: The GHz in a processor represents the number of cycles it runs, and a way of measuring the performance of the processor is by the DMIPS/MHz. In laymen terms, this could be compared to Km/l for an automobile. DMIPS stands for - Dhrystone Millions of Instructions per Second. Like, how many millions of instructions it can finish processing in one MHz clock cycle. While the A9 has a 2.5 DMIPS/MHz, the new A15 clocked a 3.5 DMIPS/MHz and if pushed upto 4 DMIPS/MHz. Thats like a 40 - 60% improvement!
Again, we are all familiar with over-clocking. And well the new processor unlike the A9 [800 MHz - 2000 MHz] can be clocked to 1000 MHz - 2500 MHz. And with higher clockspeed and higher DMIPS/MHz, you get a potent blend for extreme power.
This new processor is expected on the new Exynos 5 chipset, Tegra series, OMAP and NovaThor series chipsets, which I will soon explain about.

2. Right now the current Quad core A9 processors are only 15% faster than the Dual core counterparts. But this will soon change with the A15 and its multi-thread operations. Of course the Quad A9 supports multi-threaded operations for apps, however with improved performance from the A15, the new processor could be 30% faster than the current A9 processor.

3. A15 is not just stopping at Quad core:
Just like how the A9 was pushed to quad core application through the Exynos 4 chipsets, the A15 can also be pushed except not just quad but 8 cores.
Also this new processor, which was built at server grades, comes with Hardware Virtualization supporting multiple ROM. So we may even find phones with more than one ROM running in the future.
Also this new processor will come with integrated NEON support. For the 'no-know', this is what helps smartphones play just any kind of media you load into it, be it mkv, mpeg4, avi, etc. With integration, the response will be much faster and more efficient.

4. The new GPU - Mali T604:
This might crush the heart of all S II users out there, but the GPU you people use is pure bullshit compared to whats coming. The new Mali T-604 is said to be 5 times faster than the ones used in S II and 3 times faster than the overclocked ones in S3 [ouch!]. Also, it supports the Google RenderScript used for hardware acceleration, resulting in more fluidic UI and richer animations in games. Also this new GPU wont stop at just a single core, but can be scaled upto quad core GPU. Currently, Snapdragon S4 and Tegra 3 comes with an 8 core and 12 core GPU, but these are just too weak compared to computation power of this new T604. Hence a quad 604 will kick ass compared to the rest!

According to James Bruce, ARM Lead Mobile Strategist, this new GPU will be so powerful that they can make the screen as close as to paper with almost invisible pixels. And with that a vast improvement in the graphics, hence my point - waiting for this new processor is sure to pay off!

Intel

Although really late with mobile processors, the veterans know what they are doing. Their primary emphasize was usually power, very visible with the Core i7 processors creaming AMD's processors, while recently they have been showing a lot of activity in mobile processing technology. The Ivy bridge and Atom platforms are now being taken more seriously and well, I can see a lot of activity in that domain.

There are a lot of code names thrown about

Clover Trail
Silvermont
Viewvalley
Airmont

We have already seen the power of Medfield in the Lava Xolo X900. This phone was pretty impressive with the jscript test standing closest to the iPhone 5 beating the giants S3 and One X.

So whats with the Clover trail processors?

According to this tabulation, the Clover trail application is mainly aimed at tablet, thanks to the battery constrains. However Intel is working hard on reducing consumption and fitting it into coming superphones.

This new series from Atom features a dual core processor [Saltwell with Hyper Threading] compared to the current Single core versions in Motorola Razr-i. A better GPU to top it up - introducing the new PowerVR SGX 545 @ 533 MHz compared to the earlier 400 MHz 540.

The interesting thing about Intel processor is that they support both Android platform as well as Windows. Many companies are very interested in incorporating this in their upcoming phones/tablets for instance, the Samsung's entry into Windows tablet is through this new processor, the Samsung Series 5.
The best thing about Clover Trail is it ability to provide full Windows 8 experience compared to the inferior ARM based Win 8 Tabs, thanks to the advanced architecture. [...and that's what eats up the battery]

Right now Intel is not so close to ARM in the power consumption issue, but they seem to be working with extreme vigor. The new processor series Clover trail has 2 power states [considering this dual core burner has to keep up with the battery]. S0i1 and S0i3. When you use the phone it will consume mW in the S0i1 state, and when its off - microWatts in the S0i3 state. That should keep the battery running long enough. There are predictions that theoretically this configuration in a tablet would last it for upto 3 weeks.

In their list they also have the Silvermont. With a 22nm fabrication and availability not just in single and dual but quad core versions, Intel is loading its arsenal for a full frontal attack. Also they are not stopping there, Airmont - which is scheduled in 2014 will be developed in a 14nm fabrication, increasing the transistors while decreasing consumption.
Not to forget Intel has serious technologies like 3D tri-gate transistors, which it can use to destroy its competitions. Compared to the other technology sites, I feel Intel is planning big on the mobile processor venture, which will be very evident with the new Airmont and Silvermont architecture shortly coming with the 3D tri-gate transistor in a much smaller 14 nm and 22 nm fab.

Also the new SPEC CPU2000 comparisons show Intel coasting through all the other processors in performance.

Chipsets

Now the processor is not everything in a phone. A good chipset can rev up the processor's performance with enhanced peripheral integration. However upgrades never stop and development is running light speed in this department. This is the few region the phone manufacturer can up the ante in.

Exynos 5

Samsung was super successful with its S i9003, and from there, there was no turning back. The humming bird processor [ARM A8] on the Exynos 3 chipset with the PowerVR SGX540 GPU thrashed the benchmark figures of iPhone 4. One of the few reason why android became so popular and Samsung the king of the hills, they didnt stop their developments. With the latest S3 runnning on Exynos 4 chipset with an ARM A9 quad core heart and Mali T400 overclocked GPU, its prett obvious they are growing out of this board. And well with that exactly in their mind, Samsung is pushing hard for the new Exynos 5 series chipset.

1. Supports a dual core 1.7 GHz ARM Cortex A15 processor. As I said earlier, this new processor is projected to achieve 40 - 60% more performance than the current processor and with the new Mali T604 GPU [the one mentioned above] , this will open doors to high end tablets and mobiles where screen resolution may beat the ones in iPad 3.

2. New memory channel. This new chipset has an 800 MHz 32-bit Dual-channel LPDDR3/DDR3 (12.8 GB/sec) RAM technology, compared to the current Exynos 4 with 32-bit Dual-channel 400 MHz LPDDR, LPDDR2, DDR2 or DDR3 (6.4 GB/sec). Thats almost double the clock cycle and thus double the i/o speed. And with faster RAM the phones/tablets operation becomes smoother than ever.

Although Samsung states the most important feature of this new chipset is going to be its new WQXGA support. Considered the best display resolution with limits upto 2560 x 1600, while consuming 20 times lower power than the current Exynos 4 SoC. They have learnt from the mistakes in S3 where they took a lot of flak for the Pentile screen compared to the RGBR screens in other high end phones.
Also this new chipset support double fps, which means it can support full HD stereoscopic 3D through HDMI cables to your smart TV. And with a high memory bandwidth and clock speed it can easily handle highly graphic intensive 3D contents.

Tegra 4, 5 and 6 series

And so the guys back at Nvidia kicked back with some cool names for their series of chipsets. They have named their chipset series with references from comic book superhero names.
With Kal-El [superman already in current phones] as Tegra 3 processors, there are 4 chipsets slated to arrive next year:

Tegra 4 Wayne [Batman] AP40 - 1.2 GHz to 1.8 GHz

Stupendous configuration, I have no idea where they are going to scram for battery power. This new chipset will contain a Quad core ARM A15 processor with a low power companion core for sleep modes.
They didn't stop there, this new chipset will get a new GPU from the GeForce ULP [Ultra Low Power] series with 24 cores for the quad core and 32 to 64 core GPU for the Octa core processors. Pushing the ARM A15 to its limits for their tablet products. Nvidia is launching a full frontal assault on the Exynos 5 chipset for space in the tablet market.

Rather than a 32 nm fab, this chipset will be of 28 nm fab and support DirectX 11+, PhysX and OpenGL 4.X. This looks like serious high end tablet material, and with such supports we can expect PC games optimized for tablets very soon. I'm batman!

Tegra Grey [Jean Grey] SP3X - 1.2 to 2.0 GHz

I don't know why there is a gender discrimination, but this chipset is slated to power smartphones and are comparatively lower in power. With the same Quad ARM A9 processors + the companion core on a 28 nm fab technology, it is said to improve the current smartphone base running on Tegra 3 chipset. With integrated Icera 4G processor, it will be able to handle 4G and so more of HTC phones with 4G technology will land in the stores next year.

Tegra 5 Logan [Wolverine]

Again spotting a Quad A15 processor with a low power companion core and improves GPU [GeForce ULP] it is said to be at least 50 times faster than Tegra 2 chipset [the ones in Asus EEE pad transformer, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and so on]. Not so much of info available on this project although we will be updating soon!

Tegra 6 Stark [Ironman]

This chipset is said to be the stunner from the Tegra family. With performance scaled upto 100 times Tegra 2 and an ARMv8 instruction set , running in 64 bit instruction set, they are more of mainstream laptop processors than mobile. However this also indicates a promising growth in the tablet industry and also a solid competition for the Intel Ultra-book series. However this processor is more of a 2015 product than a 2013.

TI OMAP 5 Series

Two series have been announced in the OMAP 5 series, the

OMAP 5432 and OMAP 5430.
With a 2.0 GHz A15 Dual core processor and PowerVR SGX 544 running at 532 MHz clock and a dedicated 2D TI graphic accelerator, it has few new features compared to the counterparts. Although they are intended to be low cost chipsets for rather mid range phones, they do have certain qualities that can be compared to the latest chipsets. With a 32 bit dual channel 532 MHz memory technology and i/o speeds of 8.5 GB/s its still pretty impressive and maybe compared at par to the current high end phones. Also with a promising ARM A15 processor, this might be the most suitable chipset for the mid-range handsets.
It promises a 12% improvement from the iPad 3 running on SGX532.

NovaThor

Sony is showing a lot of interest in keeping up with the smartphone/tablet race with their recent products like the Xperia series and Tablet S and P. And not to fall behind in the big race has lined a lot of chipsets for the new ARM A15 processor. It also has a few chipset for accelerated A9 processors too.
ARM A9

NovaThor L9540

I'm pretty sure these are going into the low end Sony models next year. It has a 1.8 GHz Dual Core A9 processor with PowerVR SGX 544 GPU. Not a bad GPU considering if overclocked properly it can be compared at par with the ULP and Mali T400 with upto quad core extension and should neatly suffice for low and mid range phones. Also this chipset will be 4G enabled for maybe low cost LTE phones with an external Thor M7400 modem.

NovaThor A8540 L8540

The A series might not be for the phones, maybe low end tablets as it has no radio technology [mostly just Wi-Fi enabled tabs]. However the L series is pretty much the same L9540 with an addition of integrated modem rather than the Thor 7400 chip. This may result in a much more seamless DSP, and more fluidic response in connectivity and lower power consumption.

NovaThor A9600 L9600

Again the A series is for high end WiFi enabled tabs, and the L series for high end smartphones. It comes with an extreme 2.5 GHz A15 processor [that is the limit of A15's clock speed] and a PowerVR Series 6 [Rogue] GPU. With both FD and TD LTE and CDMA technology in the same chipset and integrated modem for lower power consumption and smaller chip design. Both the chipsets are fabricated using 28nm die fabrication technique for improved power efficiency. And the PowerVR Series 6 [Rogue] is truly Rogue! read more..

GPU

PowerVR 6 series

Popular with Apple, Imagination Technologies are trying to stay abreast with the tech scenario with this new Series 6 GPU. Two of the GPUs
PowerVR G6230 and G6430 are being developed on the new Rogue platform. With dual and quad core configurations available, they are pushing the crunch power with more addition of core clusters [like the ULP GeForce series] and from 100gigaFLOPS upto teraFLOPS of computing capability for high end segments.
We can see some serious performance in the coming Apple Ax and NovaThor based phones soon.

Adreno 320

Slightly faster than the overclocked Mali T400 GPU, this one coupled with the Krait Snapdragon S4 processor will be seen in the LG Optimus G Nexus. Already the benchmark scores looks promising with the Adreno 320 managing to stay afloat the current competition and a little under the PowerVR SGX 543MP2 and 543MP4. But lets bear in mind, these are custom GPUs for iPad3 hence the current compition amongst the Android smartphones looks easy for the Adreno 320 to handle.

Mali T658

The Mali T658 GPU was announced as a successor to the coming Mali T604 processor. With performance 10 x Mali T400 and 4 times the coming Mali T604 and scalable upto 8 cores it will be putting Apple's iPads to shame sooner than expected. Also this GPU has just more surprises waiting with a cross compatibility for ARMv8 instructions, it can be used in the 64bit instructions sets too and maybe used in extreme high end gaming tablets and ultrabook equivalents.

Mali Skrymir

This was a silent release from the ARM facility, codenamed the Skrymir will put even the Mali T658 to shame with 2 times the performance of the latter. And a 64bit instruction set support, this badboy can be coupled with the successor of A15 processor or maybe the Apple A7 64bit processor.

Screen

Sharp

Sharp has been actively developing LED screen with pixel densities higher than ever. Such screen will definitely give Android and Windows tablet an edge over the iPad. WQXGA is soon going to be obsolete with the new QFHD double HD screens [13.5 inch] from Sharps. With a 498 ppi 6.1 inch panel on its way, and the new Mali T658 series GPU and the new processors on its way, it wont be a surprise if our tablet/smartphone experience became a whole lot realistic!

So! It was a pretty long read right? For all those who came this far, I am sure you might not have come here for a casual read. And so if you do have any opinions or comments, do tell us. This sure looks like a new age for Smart.. oh! Super phones.
@/\/!

Google Chrome’s Best Apps

2012-10-13T22:48:00.000+05:30

Google chrome is creating history by being The Most-Used Browser in the World, according to statcounter. Google Chrome now has 310 million active users according to Sundar Pichai, Senior Vice-President of Chrome at Google Inc.

Google Chrome Apps are also one of the success keys apart from being Fast, Simple & Secure Web-Browser. Apps are web-based applications or programs that are designed to be used entirely within the browser. These apps serve us for performing tasks like creating documents, editing photos, listening music... and many more, without having to install complicated software in your system. You can easily use them by just installing an app plug-in in your chrome browser.

Chrome provides us several free apps for entertainment, education etc... Here I am listing some of the best chrome apps of their category.

Entertainment Apps:

TV: The first one here comes in this category is TV app. It gives you an Internet-TV experience. You can find popular TV channels of many countries like America, Europe etc.. You can probably find Indian channels like TV9, ZOOM, and NDTV etc...All you need to do is select a channel & play your favourite program in that channel.

Download this Chrome’s TV app

Picasa: It provides you fast & easy online photo sharing. You can upload your photos & videos right from your Chrome browser. Google provides 1GB of free storage for every Google account to upload your photos & videos in Picasa. So upload photos & videos, tag your friends & share with your friends using the 1GB of free storage.

Download this Chrome’s Picasa app

MagicScroll: It is a simple eBook reader that provides you unique scrolling experience. You can read millions of books from online libraries using MagicScroll .You can even upload your eBook for reading your book with MagicScroll experience. Most interesting feature is MagicScroll works with offline support and you can enjoy your reading even without Internet.

Download this Chrome’s Magic Scroll App.

AudioSauna: It is a full-featured audio workstation. Here you can apply live effects to your song. You can upload your song from your local system & add effects to your song. You can play & record songs using your computer keyboard. You can download or export your saved song as an audio file.

Download this chrome’s AudioSauna App.

Guinness World Records: Guinness Records provides the absolute entertainment that was being watched in 90 countries worldwide. Google chrome provides you the opportunity to watch the very best of these Guinness Records through Chrome video channel. You can also create your playlist with your favourite videos of Guinness Records.

Download this chrome’s Guinness World Records App

Utility Apps:

Google Drive: You can access your files & share them with your friends using Google Drive. Google Docs is a built in function in your Google Drive, so you can create & edit your documents, spreadsheets & presentations whenever you want and share with your friends. Google Drive also provides 5GB of free storage for storing your files.

Download this chrome’s Google Drive App.

Boomerang: It allows you to schedule messages to be sent or returned at a later date. Just write your message & schedule your message whenever you want to send it and this app will send your message even if you are not online. It will be greatly useful to people for scheduling birthday emails, people who are communicating with people in different time zones, etc...

Download this chrome’s Boomerang App.

AdBlock: This is one of the most popular Chrome extensions. AdBlock blocks ads all over the web when you are surfing the web through Goggle Chrome. So you can access your favourite websites like YouTube, Facebook, etc.. without any adds.

Download this chrome’s AdBlock App.

Google Dictionary: It allows you to view definitions easily as you browse the web. All you have to do is just install this app in your Google Chrome and just double click on the word that you want to know the meaning. It is very useful for those students preparing for competitive exams like GRE, TOEFL etc...

Download this chrome’s Google Dictionary App.

Personal Blocklist: It blocks domains or links from appearing in your Google Search results. After installing this app you can find link like “Block www.abc.com” in the Google results. If you click on that link then that link or domain is blocked from your Google results and will not displayed in the results even if you search in the Google until you unblock it again.

Download this chrome’s Personal Blocklist App.

Educational Apps:

Planetarium: It is an interactive sky map for exploring the stars & planets. Planetarium app makes you to feel like that you are looking at the night sky through your Google Chrome browser. After installing this app, it asks you to set your location so that you can view your screen as if you are looking at sky form your location. You can also adjust the time and your viewing location that appear at bottom of your screen to see the sky from any point around the world. You can also view a star’s or planet’s details if you point at them with your mouse.

Download this chrome’s Planetarium App.

TypingClub: This app helps you to increase your typing speed and accuracy. You will have 100 typing lessons and the next lesson unlocks only if you completes the current one. After completing the each test you will be given a rating for your typing and accuracy. This is very useful for those who want to increase their typing speed.

Download this chrome’s TypingClub App.

iVocab: It is a set of free quizzes to test & improve your vocabulary skills. These quizzes mainly focus on competitive exams like TOEFL, GRE etc... All you have to do is just sign up , select a course and take a test to analyse yourself. The quiz timer and the results generation are the interactive features in this app.

Download this chrome’s iVocab App.

Bio Digital Human: It allows you to explore your body in 3D. This is unique Chrome’s app that allows knowing more about human body. You can explore & examine each every human part through this app. You can also check some diseases and their effective areas in your body and also the symptoms. The 3D view of the body is the most interesting part in this app.

Download this chrome’s Bio Digital Human App.

Daum Equation Editor: It allows you to create & edit your formulas easily & quickly. It is easy to write a formula in this app as it provides all the math & scientific symbols with just a click. You can also change the size and layout of your formula. You can save your formula in either as a text file or an image file in your pc.

Download this chrome’s Bio Digital Human App.

Game Apps:

Angry Birds: This one of the most popular games all over the world. The game starts with a small story to take revenge on the green pigs who stole the Bird’s eggs and the updated version of Angry Bird’s has more than 400 game levels to play. All you need have is little logic and skill to clear each level. The next level of the game unlocks only if the present level is completed. Most interesting feature in this app is, it is offline supported.

Download this chrome’s Angry Birds App.

Battlefield: It is a free online multiplayer game with interactive graphics. This game takes you to a realistic world through its graphics. You can customize your weapons, you can create your player in game and you can be a lead in your game. Just try this, you feel awesome for its graphics.

Download this chrome’s Battlefield App.

Cut The Rope: The game is all about feeding the little monster, Om Nom with a candy. The little monster Om Nom arrives to your system in a box and each box is a different level.

The outstanding graphics and game playing mechanisms are the key features in the game.

Download this chrome’s Cut The Rope App.

Poppit: It is old classic game but still it is made interesting. All you have to do is to pop the group of 2 or more same coloured balloons until you clear entire screen. You can earn some gifts & some powers during the progress of the game. You can challenge yourself with easy, medium & difficult levels.

Download this chrome’s Poppit App.

Other Useful Apps:

Full Screen Weather: It is an interactive weather with a user friendly UI. It is having Google maps like interface so that you can view the world and check out the weather condition. You can search a city or place and Full Screen Weather allows you to view the updated weather conditions of that city or place.

Download this chrome’s Full Screen Weather App.

WordPress.com: It provides you an easier, faster and interactive blogging experience. All you have to do just signup and create your own blog or site of your own theme. It provides an interactive UI for blogging and it also provides 3GB of free storage for your pictures that you uploaded in to your blog.

Download this chrome’s Full Screen Weather App.

Turn Off The Lights: It provides you unique video watching experience. All you have to do is just install this app and click on the bulb icon that appears beside that URL box in your chrome browser then you will start experiencing your page fading to dark by highlighting your video. You can also adjust the dimness of the page and this app supports for multiple video sites. After watching your video, click on the bulb at the URL another time to make your page normal.

Download this chrome’s Turn Off The Lights App.

Dropbox: It is a free cloud service that allows storing your files in a secure way. You can have your files back anytime, anywhere by using your Dropbox app. You must install this app in your pc to start using it. It provides you 2GB free storage area for your files and you can get an extra 500 MB for every referral.

Download this chrome’s Dropbox App.

Gmail Offline: It is a Gmail app built to support offline access to the mails of your account. After installing this app you can read your mails without any network access. You must synchronize your account to start using this app. This app automatically updates your mails if once you are connected to a network.

Download this chrome’s Gmail Offline App.

Try using some of these Google Chrome’s Apps and make your browsing experience better and easier...

Stay tuned and like our Facebook page TechnoManiacz for latest TECH updates......

Autostereoscopy - Glass less 3D

2012-10-05T18:48:00.000+05:30

Hi folks!! Thanks for the positive response you gave for my last post about the 3D Revolution. I remember saying that the LG Cinema 3D is a better option for a 3D Home Entertainment System against a Samsung or Sony model because of LG's feather weight flicker free polaroid film glasses. If you agree that its too cool then image the coolness of watching 3D without glasses!! That would be the coolest 3D experience ever and you can safely dump the polaroids, shutter LCDs and the ancient anaglyph for this new form of Visual Wonder!!

This is what watching 3D content on your TV without the burden of 3D glasses looks like.

It might look irresistable but this technology which is called 'Autostereoscopy' which is a method of rendering three-dimensional pictures or movies [Stereograms or Holograms] is still in its nascent stages. But half a decade from now on this technology will be the
centrestage of 3D Entertainment.

So what is this newfangled 3D and how does it work?

There are two broad approaches currently used to accommodate motion parallax and wider viewing angles: eye-tracking, and multiple views so that the display does not need to sense where the viewers' eyes are located. Examples of auto-stereoscopic displays technology include lenticular lens, parallax barrier, volumetric display, holographic and light field displays.

Flat-panel solutions employ lenticular lenses or parallax barriers that redirect imagery to several viewing regions; however, this manipulation requires reduced image resolutions. When the viewer's head is in a certain position, a different image is seen with each eye, giving a convincing illusion of 3D. Such displays can have multiple viewing zones, thereby allowing multiple users to view the image at the same time, though they may also exhibit dead zones where only a non-stereoscopic or pseudoscopic image can be seen, if at all.

Parallax Barrier technology is currently used in Nintendo 3DS to good effect. But this is because this gaming console has a much smaller display size and very low number of pixels are need to be packed.

Autostereoscopic 3D displays are fitted with a high precision lenticular lens, displaying different images for each eye.

Unlike conventional 3D films made for the cinema or stereoscopic televisions operating with glasses, Autostereoscopic 3D displays require proprietary content combining not just 2, but 8 discrete images. Viewers may stand freely in front of the display and move sideways to enjoy the 3D scene from slightly different angles. That kind of heavy video content is not in use for conventional videos or Games at present because packing 8 images into a single video frame is a tedious job even in an IMAX or a Blu-ray Full HD format.

LG again was the first to introduce this technology in its Smartphone segment. The Result- LG Optimus 3D. This too employed the 'Parallax Barrier Technology'.

But to LG's dismay the Optimus smartphones proved to be a disappointment for 3D freaks.
One of the drawbacks of this type of parallax 3D technology is that when 3D mode is ON, the resolution of the screen drops significantly, resulting in less impressive picture quality. Otherwise, the display is 4.3” LCD with 480x800 pixels resolution, which are some pretty decent specs but when viewed in 3D mode and in landscape, the effective resolution seemed to be more like 400x480 pixels (half the actual width). 3D in low resolutions can look very murky. Try watching Side-by-side 3D videos in YouTube 3D at low resolutions and the effect can be so gruesome that any first timer would detest 3D.

Sharp came out with its own model of Aquous SH-12C 3D smartphone in Japan and HTC rolled out its HTC EVO 3D. Motorala MT810 is another glass-free smartphone that is available some Asian countries. Samsung which came out with plans for Galaxy 3D had to rework the 3D display and is still in its developmental stage in India.

The list of glass free 3D gadgets is quite short because after noticing the continuous failure of the above smartphones in the vibrant 3D market smartphone makers decided to press the pause button on autostereoscopic 3D displays till they come out with a convincing display that is capable of rendering flawless 3D to naked eye.

As for the glass-free 3D TV segment there is still a long way to go in making Full HD displays that give out sharp ghosting-free autostereoscopic 3D content.

But I keep my fingers crossed. In the near future we can expect better glass-free 3D phones from different makers and I would put my money on LG because my intuition says that it'll again be LG that'll come out with a breathtaking solution for hassle free 3D entertainment just as it did with 'LG Cinema 3D'

What do you think people? Share your comments with me! Bharat out!

The Snapdragon's in our head!

2012-09-29T18:07:00.000+05:30

This is the year of Dragon according to the Chinese calender. Well now that has so many connections to the tech-scenario we can see around us!
The world is becoming a busier place to live. Time has picked up its pace and we can really feel it.
We no longer have the patience we once had and now everything has to be fast and faster. And so the computers have also been developing hands and legs to run alongside us.

Electronics dictate our lives now. The speed of that semi conductor chip determines the pace of our lives. Day after day faster devices are being designed and it doesn't show any sign of slowing down. but beneath all this pile of gizmos, I can only see the wastefulness of today's society.

Cell Phones were once essential for communication and one of the most important inventions ever. Adding to the bland black and white screen with some colors and a camera was a great idea. Bumping up the memory was great so that we could enjoy some multimedia (no more lugging around the disk-man ) and then things started escalating at light speed.
The Apple iPhone pushed mobiles into a whole new Galaxy (oops) and with that came a bandwagon of companies ready to show off "who got a bigger d**k". It was all about the processors and rams and the screen size.
Pricing was secondary while it was all about getting the features into the phone. I remember reading somewhere about a Chinese teen selling his kidney online for an iPhone and iPad.
The release of iPhone 5 are bringing a fresh slew of cases regarding shoplifting [video below]. I can't digest the fact that gadgets have become so much of a status symbol that people are ready to risk anything to get them.

Advertising has a lot to do with all this. And I have to give them credits for shoving down peoples throats whatever shit they want us to do. Lets pull in the example of Galaxy Note, (people are gonna hate me for this, please comment if you do) that little piece of electronic poop is too big for a phone but too powerless for any worthwhile application, again you can read in my earlier post about laptops/tablets, where I have stated why tablets can never replace computers, well mostly due to the fact that its a joke, a rich kids toy and serves not much of a purpose besides letting you watch HD movies (yea...right...movies) and small games.
The Note which cannot come under the tablet category coz of its small size, is more of an abomination and in any case not much of a productivity thing. For all you out there saying 'I can parallel process and clip out images and stuff' - an ultra-book can jack the crap out of a Note and still not cost so much. Lets also consider the fact that those high end Photoshop and other editing softwares are never gonna reach the tablets, like it is in the computer in this case - Laptops.

They say we are all moving into cloud computing and cloud storage, the most efficient storage method and all but what people miss out is that its the most vulnerable systems ever. Hacking as such has got a lot more complex and with clouds carrying information, we can all forget about the word privacy. More details here!
now who all are with me in agreeing that a ton of crappy unnecessary status updates and tweets have come just coz of girls with smartphones[no offence intended].

And this funny application about which i read in Gizmodo - said to be for women!

And how many people have managed to get themselves into trouble with wrong tweets and updates. all the man hours just wasted on some twerp with loose fingers. (UK tweet arrests and Facebook accident arrests)
And all the celebrities and VIPs getting caught red handed coz of social networking. What a waste...

Now talking about social and psychological implications of gadgets in our lives, I would love to talk about the iPhone 5. There are news about iPhone 5 being the costliest of all smartphones and that the 64 gb version is gonna cost almost $2000 (1 Lac), I bet even the american would be laughing at that outrageous figure. To top it all, the only main reason for buying the phone - the 4G and the browsing speed, is never gonna work here.(India) is this some dare Steve Jobs gave the Apple co in his will? Do they really expect people to follow iPhone as much as they did few years back. But its so sad to note that such a posh phone takes a toll on all the workers in China (Foxconn) for whom assembling these phones were so depressing that they decided to go on a strike (Foxconn strike link Brazil link China link China2). In the 'link china' the article is about 200 Chinese workers threatening suicide, and Chinese workers at Taiyun plant walking out due to low remunerations. Are we enjoying our lives at other peoples cost? How different is this from the blood diamonds in Africa then?

And what about the countless morons who lose days of pay waiting outside the iStores all around so that they can get their hands around that new iPhone 5 (longer than ever). Productivity in these gadgets have improved greatly but at the cost of the productivity of the people!
So much for cult products..

And what about the rising crime. Or the fact that many people are depressed coz of the fact that they can't afford that smartphone they are eyeing on. I always believe, living without satisfaction is equivalent to living like a corpse. And for many that's what is happening. Well talking about crime, it would be a crime if i don't mention the data-leak bug with iPhones and the vulnerability of Android phones. Giving kids these smart phones can jeopardize their safety, with viruses that scan their logs and ping GPS locations, such phones cannot be treated as just tech-toys.

And I observed that the world has moved into newer interests in mining, moving from oil, to gold to uranium now to Rare metals. Now they are usually the lanthanoid/actinoids yttrium and some more elements however whats noteworthy is that 2 nations are intensively researching on them- China and North Korea. And why do we need rare-metals? For the electronics industry! So in fact some of the huge amount of money we spend is going into rogue countries for their development. We wont feel the pinch now, but its gonna hit us soon!

I must also stress on the stagnation in innovations happening today, rather than finding something new and actually adding into a vast pool their patents, the companies try safeguarding their existing patents fighting out an endless war gradually stopping any further developments due to insufficient funding. "Oh wait a minute, we lost all the money in the last court hearing!".

This is not a hate article but a cry, for some sense in the electronics industry today... where are we going people? How serious are we about our gadgets? Should we be so addicted to them? Maybe the "rise of machines" already started. Instead of bionic humanoids we have gadgets that we just cant replace for our daily survival.. what really saddens me is the way they use such phones and applications. With social networking in phones and tons of useless apps productivity is only plummeting, deviating far away from what the smartphones were actually meant for.
PDAs [ancestors of smartphones] were first introduced for intricate and sophisticated industrial application... now it has stooped down to taking pictures of birds and sky... WTF? And we need quad core technology for that.. there is a fine line between functionality and style statement.
One must realize that...

Developing for the sake of growth is different from holistic development, giving back to the society what it has taken. And its the latter that we should follow, fighting with better and practical innovations rather.
For that alone, i should applaud Nokia for the great job they are doing, however the whole concept of smartphones and tablets are getting way out of hands here and its us consumers who should have the reign, not the companies feeding us these gadgets with their mouth-watering advertisements.
What do you think?
@/\/!

Can games be movies? You think?!

2012-09-19T12:02:00.000+05:30

We love video games, they're fun as hell and sometimes are good learning material. If not for games such as NFS, Gran Turismo etc I wouldn't know how a car works. If not for Call of Duty, Killzone, Battlefield etc I wouldn't know how guns work and what it feels like to be a soldier. That being said, playing games like Resident evil, Max Payne, Doom etc we all think to ourselves "Man, this would make a badass movie" Well, at least I did, many times. And what do we get? Resident Evil: Afterlife, Doom with a "24th" Chromosome, Max Payne with lefty Midget Marky Mark and Mila kunis as Mona sax...WTF? Well sure, the first 2 Resident Evil movies had some elements that were true to the source material and the movies weren't cheesy. But how can they fuck up Max Payne? The game had good plot, epic characters, lotta action that would look good on the big screen. Watching these shitty movie adaptations (which were agonizing) I thought to myself "How can these be rectified for future projects?" Hence,besides general essentials for movie making, I lay down few tips on how to make an epic movie whether loosely or strictly based on a video game (but hey I am no director... so it would seem a li'l narrow minded to professionals)

Casting the right actors for the characters
"The first impression is the best impression" We've all heard of that. The actors that play the characters in from the game are the first thing we look for in a trailer.When people saw Mark Wahlberg as Max Payne and Mila Kunis(WTF) as Mona, many got skeptical and jumped to conclusions. Now that is NOT good when it comes to film making. If it's loosely based on the games like the first Resident Evil, where there's no Jill, Leon, Chris or Claire and just fresh character Alice & the T-virus' effects on humans, this doesn't matter. However, an over the top 26 year old playing Wesker in RE:Afterlife, Pretty boy with acting talent at par with a pornstar playing Leon Kennedy...my god, talk about butchering one of the coolest characters in the RE universe. Good thing they didn't mess up Jill, Sienna Guillory was perfect as Jill Valentine. Moreover they must have the voice that suits the game character, need not sound exactly alike. Mark Wahlberg's out-of-breath voice isn't even remotely similar to James McAffrey's cool,deep narrative voice. If you ask me, I would've chosen Bradd Pitt any day. Check out the trailer for "Killing them softly" he still looks like he'd fit the role [In my opinion, of course.]

Do NOT ruin the game storyline

They are called games for a reason, the writing is not gonna be an Oscar worthy masterpiece. If a game's plot is cheesy, over the top then they're just meant to be mindless badass entertainment, like Gears of War, Doom for example..
Either don't make a movie and let them remain as epic games or make few reasonable changes

to the story line and execute it well. Doom's story is pretty cheesy and it's all about mindless fun shooting hell demons that invade mars through a portal!! What were the makers of Doom thinkin? Probably "Alright the recent game Doom 3 seems to be kickin ass in the video game market, Hell let's make a Doom movie with an even cheesier plot, how about a 24th chromosome?" I'm not a big fan of the tomb raider games but judging by the reception of the movies by critics/gamers.... they must have fucked up the game's story line too, i don't know. That being said about games with more action than plot, there are games with intriguing plot such as Resident evil 4, Max payne trilogy, Hitman series, Elder scrolls series etc Hitman movie had good casting but the movie, mehh it's ok and don't get me started on Max Payne and resident evil post 1&2

Make sure to include game elements

As we play a game, we find certain distinct elements that define it. For eg: Sand demons, rewinding time & puzzles from prince of persia games, Bullet time, shoot dodge & Flashback narration from max payne, Multiple ways in mission completion, disguises from Hitman etc Without these key elements POP wouldn't be POP, Max Payne wouldn't be Max Payne and Hitman wouldn't obviously be Hitman, if made into a movie. And voila... prince of persia had just the dagger of time and NOTHING else, Hitman was a bourne movie with Agent47 instead of Jason Bourne and Max payne,well.....it had reverse shootdodge (diving back in slomo n shootin a person behind him) enough said.

Movie makers/lead actors MUST play the games

After I watched that god awful Resident Evil: Retribution, I bet Paul W.S Anderson never played any of the RE games. In fact, i think he must have just watched IGN/Gamespot walk-through videos on YouTube and then made these movies. Mark Wahlberg clearly mentioned he's never played any of the Max Payne games, good job promoting a video game movie, Mark. Directors, screenplay writers etc of movies based on comics/ novels read the source material before starting the film project hence, no shit....the same thing applies to video game movies as well. I really hope the makers of the Metal gear movie know what they're doing.

CGI or no CGI, Visual appeal must win

We've all been through Mortal Kombat: Annihilation AKA The unwanted MK sequel with the shittiest CGI & fights. I mean, when the Computer Generated Imagery IS the source material... you can't have shitty CGI or other visual FX in the movie adaptation. You're probably tired of me mentioning resident evil like 50 times already, but the 4th & 5th movie in the RE film series had really shitty wire works and pointless Slo-mo!! Hey Paul W.S Anderson, We get it, You're a big Matrix fan... stop using slo-mo everywhere you prick (Sorry got a lil nerd rage there).

And so taking a movie based on a game is not easy, games mean much more to us gamers than just some graphics and objects on a screen, its a second life, a virtual reality and when we don't find those elements in the same movie that took us to places in the game, that's the ultimate crime these directors do... killing the soul of the game they were actually meant to immortalize. This being considered I would comment on my favorite movie that came at par with the game, The batman series! Although some that irritated me was the Harry Potter franchise, i couldn't consider them games, more of another portal to cash in on the actual Harry Potter concept.

Lets hope they make more content rich games and movies that go hand in hand to give us the experience we yearn so much. Games from Tom Clancy have such amazing story lines, I can visualize almost all of them as a movie. Again, its something that rests in the directors hands...
Bav out! Do post your comments!

The 3D Revolution....Whats in store for us?!!

2012-09-07T19:52:00.000+05:30

Hey!! This is my first post on Technomaniacz! In-fact its my first ever post. So please forgive me if you notice any minuscule sign of inexperience and please forget if there are bigger ones. To be modest, I presume there'll be many. But lets keep my memoirs aside and we'll get to the reason why I'm indulging in this cumbersome job. Recognize the bloke in the picture below?

I would say he was the one who revolutionized the way movie makers saw the 3D technology and its application in mind-boggling movie making. Yep!! Its James Cameroon himself folks!

After his movie "Avatar" hit the screens in 2009 and kept the box-offices all over the globe rigging for the next 12 months people began to see 3D as a new but worthy addition to their movie-watching experience. Consumer Electronic Giants like Samsung, Sony, LG and the lot tried to cash in on this new craze and soon announced an array of products that had Stereoscopic technology as the driving component in them, including the Blu-ray discs and players.

So from then on there was a wild rush from different makers of 3D TVs to grab and control this new market. Samsung and Sony introduced Active 3D technology for 3D Home Entertainment.

But the consumers who got hold of these flashy TVs were in for a wild shock!! They were supposed to wear heavyset glasses that easily burned a big hole in their pockets. The glasses needed frequent recharges [How could anyone accept this!!] since they worked on batteries and cost INR 3000 on an average.

Soon the spurt in sales that was expected by Samsung and Sony fizzled out. People struck to normal Full HD LED or LCD displays. Just when things began to get difficult for 3D Home Entertainment, LG came up with a wonderful cost effective solution in "The LG Cinema 3D" range of smart television.

Now this is where the confusion arises for a consumer willing to spend his/her hard earned money on a worthy 3D TV.

Today's 3D entertainment dilemma!

Go for the Samsung Smart TV or LG Cinema 3D?!! [We'll leave Sony because it is costlier than Samsung though both use the same Active Filter Technology for 3D Rendering and isn't suitable for an average Indian middle class customer]

The comparison Now.....This is Samsung Smart 3D TV and its 3D glasses...

Now this is how 3D works out in this TV. The eyewear used has infrared or bluetooth sensors with which it connects wirelessly to a 3D LCD TV or 3D LED TV. When the screen shows 3D content, it alternates between two versions of an image. This is done by having a pair of LCD shutters in the eye wear which switch ON and OFF alternatively making sure that only one of them is ON at any given time.

In active technology, however, the two image versions are not displayed at the same time, and there is a tiny lag between the two images. When the images alternate on the screen, the glass lenses alternate between being opaque and transparent. So when the right eye receives input for an image shown on screen, the left eye does not receive any input.

This happens at a very high speed, as a result of which the brain does not have time to perceive a flicker in the images. As the closing and opening is timed in sync with on-screen images, each eye views only one version of the image. A stereoscopic sync connector is plugged into an infrared (IR) emitter. This emitter transmits signals to the 3D glasses using active lenses. This helps the lens synchronize with 3D content on screen.

Manufacturers have started incorporating this technology in their television units only recently. This is because most of the older plasma and LCD television models had low refresh rates as a result of which this technology could not be employed in them.

Refresh rate is the speed with which a screen replaces images and when this is low, the viewers will be able to detect a flicker when they use these glasses. But in most of the latest television models, the refresh rates are high and viewers can enjoy a great 3D experience.

The Main drawback of this method is the Image Flickering. This can easily cause headache and nausea and the heavy glasses can make your nose deeper. That might affect the girls seeing that they don't want their facial complexion altered.

And the cost which is the main factor. The Basic active 3D glasses for Samsung model starts at INR 1300 [Refresh rate of 120 HZ] and climb upto INR 5000 based on their refresh rate. How can an Indian family of 4 and above afford this??!

Now this is where LG exhibits its commonsense. This is LG Cinema 3D TV and its passive polarised filter glasses.

The Pink thing above [Urgh!] will win any girl's heart. Its a passive 3D glass that you get with LG Cinema 3D.

The colorful array of glasses that you see below are not sun glasses but they are passive 3D glasses again!! Cool!! Aren't they?! This is where LG Scores above Samsung and here is how they achieved it.... 3D TVs employing polarization are used with polarized glasses, whose lenses filter light waves that are polarized in a specific direction.

Unlike Samsung Displays LG developed this display that is capable of polarising in two ways.

Only light polarized in a way compatible with either lens is allowed through each of them, as a result of which, each eye perceives only one set of images. The images are then processed by the brain in the same manner as it does for real life images. The working is similar to Theatrical 3D exhibition which is cheap.

One advantage of polarized glasses is that image details and colours shown by them are similar to that of real life 3D content. Polarized glasses offer viewing experience that is among the best in different 3D technologies. Another advantage of using these glasses is that they are relatively cost effective as they make use of passive technology.

With polarized glasses, users can also conveniently shift between 2D and 3D viewing experiences.

And the Cost?!! Well if you have just INR 100 bucks then pay a trip to our very own Ritchie Street, Chennai, where you'll find these in even better designs and more attractive colours. OR just pay a visit to your nearby multiplex and watch a 3D movie. Keep the glasses with you as a memorabilia if the movie is good or do the same to compensate your money if its a bad one [Do this at your own risk].

Therefore I'd rather go for the LG Cinema 3D (4X" costs around INR 90,000) than a Samsung Smart (4X" costs around INR 85,000 plus INR 5000 or more for those uncomfortable looking glasses).

So folks I hope this post comes in handy when you plan to buy your very Own 3D Entertainment system.

Adios for Now....!

Will be Back Soon with more..

Sleeping Dogs: Square Enix goes Oriental!

2012-09-05T22:14:00.003+05:30

I have played as whites [GTA VC] , blacks [GTA SA] , Italians [Mafia II], Russians[GTA 4] and I was wondering, when the Chinese version was coming. I guess they waited for all the good games to release and as always ripped off the good parts from each. This may seem amusing, but seriously, there is no better explanation than that. They did follow the true philosophy of China - Copy and prosper! [Confucius says!]

The game is a 3rd person open-world sandbox, very similar to Grand Theft Auto, fully customized into a Chinese version of the world. We have already seen a Thai version in Just Cause 2, which was again from Square Enix and I have a hunch they might have used the same game engine.

Now for the ripping part, this game predominantly strains on the character's martial arts skills rather than "ni**as with guns" attitude. So you have more of close quarter combats, knuckles to face types of battles which are pretty neat however not new. For all those who have played Batman Arkham Asylum and City, this game may just bring some nostalgic feelings. There are countless combos to master and the worst part is - most of them don't work on time. The block key usually fail and you end up chicken dancing in front of your chowmein-eating brawler!

*Cantonese accent* "Someone get the karaoke on! this Ham ga tsan is dancing here"

So the game has its version of chases and racing and parkour movements and shooting[I'm sure they simulated cheap Chinese guns, it just doesn't work!].

About the parkour, its very similar to Assassins Creed and a lot of bits and pieces from L A Noire [chasing the bad guy while you climb and jump your way through the obstacles]. While driving, you can jump onto the next car and hijack that vehicle, although with trucks it gets a little tricky [practice makes perfect!]. Reminded me a lot about the hijacking in Just Cause 2, minus the rope tricks.

However the story is really interesting, for the most part because its a whole new theme for such an Open-sandbox. Of course for us Indians, this is nothing new, half of our movies run on the same story. The Chinese theme really kicked in the flavors and made the game a lot more colorful compared to its american counter parts. I could also smell a bit of Saints Row theme in this game with the myriad of costumes and gears [especially auto] you get in this game.

Although the game is highly immersive, certain elements can really bug a gamers. One such example would be the experience points - Cop side and Triad side. One can collect the Triad side points real easy while for the Cops side, even a small dink on a parking meter would void your efforts to get a clean 3 shield finisher. It's irritating to find that keeping both the progression at an equal pace is turning out to be such a herculean task!

Like the gyms in GTA San Andreas, you can find martial arts school here and learn new techniques. With the points you gain from the missions, you can unlock upgrades in combat skills and other skills from Cops and Triads [Again another rip off from Batman AC]. More copies from Batman include hacking CCTV cameras to nail bad-guys [More like hacking in Arkham City]. God! did they copy everything?!

You can find certain elements like "Shrines" and "Suitcases" which boosts your health and finance respectively. These suitcases are often guarded by local goons, so a short spell of fist-fight is required to get your hands on the moolah.

Then there are countless stores selling "Dragon's Kick" sodas and Herbal Tea which improves your melee attacks and health for a brief period of time. I was intrigued by the "dragon's kick" and its effect, got me thinking - can Coke improve your fighting skills? And then you also have countless street vendors with their noodle and pork-buns, all giving you a tiny health boost. It would be a crime if I missed the massages, for all you out there who played the game - you know what i'm talking about!. For the no-knows, the massage sharpens your senses and increases the rate of your face-meter[I'll let you discover the 'but how?' yourself]. Now the face-meter is something new and interesting in this game. By helping people and beating up bad guys, you get to assert your position and command some respect amongst the commoners. After a while people call you by your name, its an experience!

This game has copied the dance sessions and hydraulic dancing in San Andreas with the Karaoke nights. Girls are aplenty in this game and sometimes you can eavesdrop on interesting conversations about their boyfriends and umm.. the rest of the gibberish.

Missions are exciting, however buggy game-play makes it painful to play in certain missions. Environmental graphics in this game is more artistic and the in-game physics is decent. Although the controls and game-play takes some getting used to. For example, while driving, as you approach maximum speed, your screen starts to quake inducing a nauseating feeling [especially in 3D] and the mouse control while driving makes the screen swing to either sides uncontrollably. The controls on the keyboard are a pain, in one case - the vehicle access key is RMB and the aim key is E. Most of us are used to Aiming with RMB, and during high speed chases end up clicking that by mistake, ejecting out of the vehicle![Restart Checkpoint!]

Playing this game is a mixed reaction, just like this review. The game is warm and welcoming but the bugs make it a pain to play [at certain points]. For a scrapped project being given a second chance, well, its commendable. But as a mainstream game, a little more polished game-play would have made this game an experience - one of a kind! And of all the proverbs, this one stands out the most - "One man's loss is another man's gain"...Activision, you should have thought about this again....

I would give this game 7.5/10

[Just for the confusion of which side I am actually on!]

What do you think!
Comment below!

@/\/!

Ta-B or Lapto-P, that is the Question!

2012-09-01T18:52:00.000+05:30

Although a line from the age old Shakespearean play - Hamlet, its more of a one line representation of the doubt most of us buyers have in mind before buying a Tablet/Laptop.

Life was simple with just PC and Laptops. If I needed portability I went for a Laptop and if I needed raw computing power I went for PC. And then things started getting crazy. The Tablets hit the market and so did ultra-books and other mainstream notebooks. Today we have Quad-core Tablets and Core i7 powered Laptops [is it that necessary?].

So what suits your usage? A laptop or a tablet?
Here are some criteria you would like to check up before you make that arduous decision.

Why Tablet:

Portability:
This is pretty much an obvious statement. The first thing that strikes in anyone's mind, when mentioning portability is a tablet. A tablet is compact compared to a Laptop and if you are required to carry around the device for multimedia and browsing then a Tablet would be most appropriate for your needs.

Battery:
The battery life of a Tablet surpasses a Laptop in many levels. Firstly, the processors and other hardwares used in a Laptop is not as energy efficient as the ones you may find in a tablet. Of course one should also note that the tablet applications don't require much resource compared to the Laptop applications and also the screen size coupled with AMOLED displays in certain variants optimizes the battery consumption, allowing a longer usage time.

Virus/BSOD:
This is an extremely good point as Tablets, apart from some spywares [which one can avoid by installing apps carefully] don't suffer from problems related to Viruses and Malware attacks. Also a Laptop, running on Windows, are sometimes prone to the BSOD [Blue Screen]. However a tablet user don't have to bother about that, since the Tablet's resources and OS is optimized for such an event.

Interface:
The touch screen interfacing is one of the most user-friendly interface available. Compared to lugging around an optical mouse because the touch-pad is just not sensitive or big enough, a tablet spreads out an interface the size of its screen and with an optimized layout, using them is a breeze.

NFC:
This is already available in Tablets [such as Nexus 7] and pretty handy to share data and connect devices. The InstaWifi is one of the examples, where by tapping the phone to another phone, the other phone can share the WiFi settings. However there are news that Windows 8 supports NFC. Although NFCs for laptops are far-fetched compared to Tablets.

Durable and Cheap:
The Tablets are much more durable the a Laptop and with a case added, one don't need to be too careful. Particularly useful in case you are not too careful with your gadgets. And with the added Gorilla Glass display they are absolutely solid devices compared to a Laptop, which when dropped, may even result in data-loss. Also a Tablet is much cheaper than a Laptop [in case of low end tablets]. Read about which tablet suits you the most!

Why Laptops:

Computing Power:
The Tablets come with the quad core exynox 1.5 GHz processor, which is the maxed out version. However compared to Tablets, the Laptops usually start out with a Core i3 2.2 GHz Dual core [4 threads, hence 2 virtual cores] which gives us much more computing power. For the same price, A laptop may come with a good i5 processor and a decent GPU. Which has way more power when compared to Tablets [especially in terms of HD videos and animations]. The RAM in laptops are much greater and runs application with more fluidity.

Applications:
Even though the Play Store and App Store has an exhaustive list of applications, core applications still need a proper Computer to run on. Example, the mobile version of Photoshop and Auto-cad looks like a joke when compared to the actual software. Also, the games on a Laptop is different from the games on a Tablet. A laptop has the resource to handle games much more advanced compared to a Tablet [Although that margin of difference is reducing].

Multitasking:
Even if android is deemed as an OS capable of Multi-tasking, it still lacks the ability to facilitate seamless transitions through applications and also one cannot work on 2 or more simultaneous applications like a PC/Laptop. Thus this can be a let down considering the fact that most of us do use multitasking without realizing it, and are bound to feel the pinch if you are solely relying on a Tablet.

Connection Ports:
A Laptop comes with Ethernet port, HDMI, DVI ports which allows a user to access many functionally important devices and networks. An example would be joining a Local LAN where the only available option is using an Ethernet cable [Considering many offices still have Ethernet for LAN] and let's not forget that an Ethernet is still faster than WiFi. Connecting the printer to a laptop is a breeze compared to a Tablet, with which one can interface devices only through a WiFi bridge. Also connecting a Laptop to a projector is no hassle compared to a Tablet although a few have HDMI output facility. And, multiple USB connections through a tablet is not as easy as the ones on a Laptop, considering one needs a whole bundle of Cables and Hubs before actually setting up the connection.

Extensive Storage:
A laptop offers storage incomparable to Tablet. Laptops now come with 1 TB of hard disks and some offer SSD rather than the typical HDD compared to the maximum of 64 GB one can push the Tablets to. The files read/write speeds in a Laptop is much faster compared to a Tablet and both have the added advantage of cloud storage accessibility.

Multi-booting:
A laptop is capable of handling Windows and Linux OS through dual-booting. Although android supports dual booting through various custom ROMs, it cannot boot another OS. In this case, even if Windows has crashed due to viruses/malwares using the Linux OS we can clean off the Laptop and also the current version of Linux Ubuntu and Red Hat is as user friendly and eye catching as the Windows 7.

Full Keyboards and High Res Display:

The full keyboard in a Laptop makes typing easier compared to a Tablet's onscreen keyboard, while the typical laptop display provides a higher resolution and screen size compared to a Tablet. Also physical keyboards are most responsive. And unlike a tablet, the keyboard doesn't require a share of the screen and enables the user to have full display at all times. This is very important for people in the writing field, where more visibility is always better for some proof-reading and editing.

[Read more about Android PCs here]
They say Tablets are replacing Laptops and PCs, but I would comment that as more of a mass hallucination. Laptops and PCs can outperform the Tablets, but the portability of a Tablet is something that makes it so desirable and popular. With developments taking place at light speed, we can only wait and watch.
At the end, its all upto you!

@/\/!

A for Apple, Oh wait...what about Android?

2012-08-28T17:16:00.003+05:30

They say this year it the year of Tablets, and maybe the next year is the year of Phablets and so on...

But then the advent of so many gadgets has caused one big problem,a really really confused crowd of money bags just waiting to splurge on them new Tabs.

So I have come up with this little, albeit aged, argument on which tab do you really want! [Bold statement].
Now for all of you out there, a tablet is in no way close to the usability one may get from a Laptop or a PC. Hence your primary usage would be browsing, media, light reading etc.

Now the market has 2 main classes of Tablets, The Apple iPad and the Android. The incoherence in the Android section can be a deterrent for many of the customers, however one may find real gold in this section.
With the advent of the Nexus 7 tab, the interest among the gadget freaks have shifted heavily towards the Android section.
Asus have always been keen in the Tablet manufacturing and have come up with quality tabs such as Slate, Transformer. While Samsung have their own share in the tablet section with the Galaxy Tab. A late entry being Sony and many scattered local vendors.
Meanwhile in the Apple section, we have the rock solid iPad 3 [arguably,mother of Pads]

Your concerns to choose Apple:

1. Double HD screen, with 264 ppi[pixel per inch] vs 150 ppi:
The pixel density in an iPad is higher than any android tablet in the market. Very noticeable with a crisper display, way better than any other tablet can offer. With more pixels comes more clarity. And so any HD content viewed in an iPad and any other Tab would have a stark difference.
Advantage: The video viewing experience in an iPad will be worlds apart compared to any other tablet. One of the main usage of tab being watching Hi-def movies on the go, this would be something one can't overlook.

2. Battery life:

Click here for more details

The biggest concern of any Tablet owner would be the battery life. Who would want to hold on to a dead tablet? And so again, iPad beats the android Tabs hands down in this battle too. The battery life on an iPad is at least an hour and half longer than the most battery efficient android tablet in the market: Galaxy Tab. Also the new ICS has been a pain for the battery due to poor handling of background applications, until we find Jellybean in every tab, iPad rules in this aspect.
Advantage: Longer browsing, gaming, multimedia experience compared to Android. A very serious concern for tablet buyers.

3. Best of Apps:
The whole application do-hickey was launched by Apple, and so its pretty obvious Google Play is still not as populated as the App-store. Games such as Blade- Infinity, Arkham City [iPad supports unreal game engine!] and a smoother version of Temple run, fruit ninja and so on.
Advantage: Best of the games coupled with hours of battery life. Another valid concern for all those who are looking for a Tab for some serious gaming.

4. Refined software:
The iOS is a very refined software compared to the Ice cream sandwich. Android suffers from bloating due to addition of registry entries and thus becoming slow as time progresses. Comparatively, the iOS performs much better in many levels of touch and responsiveness.
Advantage: Smoother operations compared to Android and so very user friendly for casual users.

5. Periodic update:
Although some may find Apple's policy of yearly scheduled upgrades irritating, my view is that it is a much better system compared to Android Tablet maker's policy of upgrades then-and-there.
Advantage: Your tablet is top of the line for almost 2 years till you are forced to change.

6. Camera:
The Camera in the iPad is way more evolved than the cameras one may find in the Android Tabs. The closest equivalent to image clarity was Asus Transformer Prime, however one has to take into account the fact that Transformer Prime is equipped with an 8 MP cam compared to the iPad's 5 MP.
Combined with the stunning display, its a brilliant piece of technological advancement Apple has contributed to us.
Advantage: Sharper, crisper shots with stunning photo viewing experience.

Your concerns to choose Android:

1. Customization:
Being open source software, one no longer has any constrains in modifying the tab. This means, I can load custom ROMs and such to make my Tab more efficient and classy. Comparatively Apple looks mainstream and bland. And the user has no access to the Pad from the inside, leaving any option to improve the Tab performance. Thus alienating most of the hacker community as well as the average users enthusiastic about fiddling with such gadgets.
Advantage: Android by allowing developers into their core coding, has opened up more possibilities to make Tablets more efficient and this way android Tablets can be modified into countless ways compared to the mainstream iPad.

2. Cost:
This one is for all my Indian people. Yes! its very obvious Android is way cheaper than iPad. Even though the iPad has awesome features, the price is sometimes unjustifiable compared to an Android Tablets. The flexibility available for a buyer is absent in the Apple section compared to the myriad of products in the Android section. However Apple has learnt its lesson and is launching the cheaper iPad mini. But it can in no way beat the price of the new Nexus 7 which is threatening even the local crowd of small time Tablet makers.
Advantage: The pricing makes a tablet a much better deal compared to a mainstream laptop. Considering a Laptop of 40 grand could outperform a tablet any day, a cheaper tablet is a more practical option.

3. No proprietary software:
One big pain i always felt with Apple products was the "bondage" with iTunes. Not only does that program suck, but it also adds to the burden of most of the computers its running on, adding unwanted start-ups and unnecessary interfaces. Meanwhile in a different universe, the Android is light and does not require much of the shebang as one would need in connecting an iPad. Let's not forget the proprietary cables, without which one cannot the iPad to any device, not even charging, compared to the standard micro-USB in Android.
Advantage: Hassle-free connection anywhere, anytime. If your friend's PC don't have iTunes, or he does't have the Apple flat-cable, don't fret, coz you won't be needing them.

4. Google Now:
A year back there was a huge buzz about Siri. Sadly, now it looks like a retard cousin of the much more evolved Google Now. Google Now unlike Siri can operate offline and also recognize a variety of accent compared to Siri. And also with the penetration Google has in the internet [as a search engine] it is able to provide the user with much more information than Siri, making the latter a laughing stock.
Advantage: An edge in the latest technology with one of the biggest software pioneers working behind Android.

5. PC like Multi-tasking:
The Android OS is built on a Linux base and this gives the OS some properties very similar to a PC. One of them being the PC like multitasking system. The system works totally different from the iOS and is able to handle multitasking easier than the latter.
Advantage: With better hardware configurations and software support, Android's ability to handle harder and more resource intensive task is improving with every update.

6. Flash!:
As always Android supports Flash compared to Apple which obviously don't. Its a very notable strength in the Android stable and an important consideration if one is interesting in Tablets for surfing and browsing.
Advantage: Can load flash contents in websites directly through the browser and don't need separate applications. This improves usability where surfing is one of the main criteria.

And also we cannot overlook the Windows Surface [Microsoft was the first to bring tablets before Apple, however was not warmly greeted by the consumers at that period], however with a high price tag, i doubt it would be a hit among the masses, simply because a tablet can never offer the usability of a Laptop...

@/\/!

Hey Android! WTF are u doing here!

2012-08-16T17:11:00.000+05:30

Now speaking of Android, what strikes us first! Samsung S3 [and the screwed up tag line - "designed for humans"] and HTC One X [like i need to skydive, take a picture while taking a video everyday] and the whole bandwagon of phones on steroids.

But then android is just a software... so why cant we run it on basically anything with some chips on it. And so that pushed me into hunting for devices running on Android other than phones and tablets... and its surprising where we can find android! Like roaches clambering into every nook of a room, android has somehow found its way into a crazy list of devices.

without much adieu..

Android 4.0 Mini PC:

This one really caught my fancy! Not because it performs like a super computer but because of its size. Although its not a stellar performer compared to the Mac Mini, its something very interesting to see [Look mom! they shrunk the computer!]

This little bad boy is just the size of a pen-drive. For its guts - it comes with a 1.5GHz Allwinner single core processor, 512MB of RAM [It comes with a 1GB RAM too - $84] and 4GB of onboard flash storage and a Mali 400 GPU. You can get at these internals via two USB ports (which can also power the device,) and pump the result out to a display via HDMI. If that 4GB of memory isn't enough, you can expand it via a microSD slot. Well, by now one thing is clear - its definitely Chinese! Its funny they are trying to bring all the gadgets to their sizes [micro]... although ain't that a delight!

So whats the deal with this? Now this HDMI can be connected to your TV, the USB connected to a hub through which you can connect mouse, keyboard, pen-drive, external hard-disks and voila! you got yourself a PC! As far as testing - we all had the same expression when Frankenstein created the monster - Its Alive!!

Priced at $74, it's not a rich kids toy either and available aplenty all over the internet.

Ouya!:

Now for the next surprise i found among the ever so vast online communities, is definitely a treat for all you avid phone-gamers.

The motivation for this project was pretty simple. I love the games in my phone but this fucking screen is killing me. The controls aren't as much fun as the consoles we have [which means i am getting butchered in the game] and well the whole thing doesn't feel so slick. Hmm, why not make a console to play just these games!

And so they came up with a project - Ouya! Its interesting to note that the product hasn't entered the prototype stage but managed to collect more that $8 million dollars. That's what you get when hackers and coders unite for one cause! games!!!

So what are we looking at? Its definitely not an alien tissue dispenser, its actually a phone without a screen.

These are the technical specification:

Nvidia Tegra 3 (T33) SoC
Quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 CPU
Nvidia ULP GeForce GPU
1 GB RAM
8 GB of internal flash storage
HDMI connection to the TV, with support for up to 1080p HD
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth LE 4.0
Ethernet port
One USB 2.0
Wireless controller sporting two analog sticks, d-pad, eight action buttons, a system button, and 3 touchpad
Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich"

Something i found online!

And here we have, ladies [if any] and gentlemen, the ultimatum for all android laptops. Priced at $99 with HDMI port to hook up to any sort of display one can find! This one can beat the pricing of any laptops in the market [Asus Transformer Prime - $679].

But then you may ask "why android man? whats the big deal with this box?". Android and iOS are fast catching up to be the most preferred platforms for game development, not just due to the ease at which one can make a game, but also the profit a developer makes compared to other consoles. The development takes very little capital and this is encouraging more developers to bring more game titles. This would ensure us an exhaustive supply of games, and that is something we can't ignore! With the PS3 and Xbox games costing arms and legs [wont someone please think of the children!]. Android games cost much lesser.

But I am also aware of Apple already having the Apple TV out there, but heck! android is something i can control, something i can modify. Imagine one can do all the possible modding and over clocking that we usually do to an android phone. A very valid consideration. I just hope to own one of them soon...

Android Smart TV:

Imagine a whole TV running on Android, nothing plugged in.. No Ouya or the Mini PC, but switch on the TV and you are greeted by the home screen of ICS. Well, the Chinese don't have to imagine that! Coz, they got the Lenovo Android 4.0 Smart TV. Actually it makes the Samsung Smart TV look like crap [consider the fact that this one run fully on Android - Samsung owned!]. A TV with Dual core processor is commendable, but makes me wonder! Damn can I stick that chip anywhere?? But yea, with a 5 Megger cam and 2 remotes [one game pad and a normal remote with mic for voice commands] this is really rocking the base of what J L Baird first envisioned as a TV. No longer an idiot box, it has as much of computing power as your phone and can run any android game with as much as fluidity as one would expect on a premium smartphone, except! hold on a min - rather than a 5 inch screen, here you are greeted with a 55 inch screen!

Mother of ...!!

Android GPS System:

And now moving from the comforts of our home to umm.. comforts of our cars, the android followed us into the onboard GPS device too!

Well, it has been a pre-installed device on most high end luxury cars - BMW, Audi, Mercs.. But now we find such devices sold separately on the markets as well! I found this interesting Gizmo while trolling around the internet.

Dynavin E-46, a basic Android based navigation system that not only tells you the way, but also serves as a media hub. Running on Android 2.2 [not the latest, but still! its android] you have all the basic access to the market [now called Play store] and all the apps you can download from that [which is needless to say - games, players, maps etc]. One may sync the device with another android phone and this just extends the practical usability. It hasn't been so popular to create any noticeable market footprint in the Sat-Nav market though. Now I can only imagine what else it can be used for. Maybe optimizing your engine with a touch of a button? Over-clock your engine?! Wow, won't that be wicked! The possibilities are endless...

And well there are a a lot more.. however not significant as to add to this list. But this mind-blowing applications are more than enough to understand that the potential of Android is not just limited to phones but beyond. And we all know why that is so... coz we have control! Unlike some other OS-es [ahem..iOS]

As more and more applications unfurls we are bound to be amazed by a much more colorful and smarter range of products like never seen before..

Go green People!!

@/\/!

Seven Habits of Highly Effective Smartphone Users

2012-08-11T23:50:00.000+05:30

Some not-so-obvious methods to save your phone battery's health and life.

Ever wondered why your phone always disappointed you with ridiculously low battery and left you brooding when you could be listening to your favourite song, or watching that one movie on the go or share that funny video clip with your friend.

In this article, i will explain 7 non-conventional way you can save your batteries and some tips on improving your battery life.

1. Back ground apps:

This has been a huge issue with almost all ICS phones as the back ground apps hog processor resource even after exiting them. Now Captain Obvious would have told us "...and the processor need battery". There is an app in Google Play that caught my fancy. Norton Utilities. This app works wonders in terminating useless background apps, freeing the processor of most of its back breaking work. One may have this app as a widget and terminate all running apps with just a touch. Juice defender has a setting to bring down screen brightness up to 80% below Zero brightness setting.

2. Battery Technology:

Many a times I have noticed people over looking this. There are two basic types of rechargeable batteries. Nickel based and Lithium based.
Now Nickel based batteries are the old technology. They have the 'memory effect' which means if one charges without draining the battery completely, the battery life is reduced with every charge. Its the exact opposite with Lithium Polymer batteries. A user must charge his battery before it reaches 10%. If it does go beyond 10% please switch off the phone and then charge before you use it again.
Draining once in a month completely would be a good idea to re-calibrate the battery. Android is sometimes error prone to showing the wrong reading. And also, over charging your phone is a bad idea as this sometimes heats up the battery. The battery is sensitive to heat and phones such as HTC [which heat up a lot] may have real issues with battery life.

3. Try not to restart your phone:

Even if the world is coming to an end and the only hope to save mankind is by restarting the phone, but you want the battery to last long... don't do it! Start-up of an OS uses maximum processor resource to sync the SD card data and index the files, run back ground checks and such. Restarting the phone would use up precious battery that could have been used elsewhere.

4. Widgets and Ping-ers:

Widgets for weather, news, twitter etc continuously ping for updates with their main servers. You can stop them from ping-ing [transmitting and receiving data] by disabling that in Settings-> Accounts and sync. This way you can have your 3G and 2G on while still saving some juice.

5. Tone down the colors:

This may sound absurd, but sometime solutions may sound silly. But this one sure works. If you are having difficulties with battery and you use a 3rd party theme application, then tone down on the color scheme. Tone down on vibrant and rich colored wall papers [also live wallpapers]. Using vibrant theme makes it difficult for the screen brightness to contribute to saving the battery as color reproduction takes a higher priority. Go for darker themes with more black in them [very useful for AMOLED screens]. Also turn off Hap tic feedback [vibrators need battery!].
For darker more sophisticated theme Try me!

6. If your phone is cooking..:

If your phone feels hot, don't use it. Probably the cell radio or the processor is working on some background transmission or process. Try to terminate all application and turn off cell radio with airplane mode. Let it cool and then you may resume. This definitely worked when we tested our phones [Galaxy SL, HTC One V]. Such prolonged heating effects may affect your battery's life as well. Replace battery in that case, for visible changes.

7. Minimize the radio chatter:

Switch off unnecessary connections such as WiFi and Bluetooth when not in use. They can hog precious amps just by scanning for other devices and pinging data to them. They are also security risk.

And if nothing works, you can always have this with you. Portable USB charger
Also if your phone has heating problem and very weak battery..I would suggest you to change the battery and follow these steps. This should solve any such problem in the future.
@/\/!

Why the marriage between cheap smartphones and ICS just ain't working!

2012-08-09T19:03:00.000+05:30

According to Miriam Webster dictionary “upgrade” is defined as “to improve or replace especially software or a device for increased usefulness“

But in the case of HTC One V and ICS, I have no clue what the hell is going on!..

I’m wondering if some Thai dude with a sense of humor wanted to play a practical joke in the android market and released a Hotplate with a processor [I present to you proudly my phone, HTC One V]

I would have been much happier with an Ice Cream sandwich in my hand and a Nokia 1100 in the other rather than an HTC with ICS inside!

Today’s market is so fierce and volatile [look at Nokia going down!] the only way to stay afloat is by satisfying the customer needs, or whatever the mirage they are experiencing. However when that is not possible, they can always sell u a soap-box with a screen on it and a half-baked OS and yea! People would still buy it. That’s what happened to me. Pleased that I held in my hands, the phone that would push me to a certain stature, only to realize it pushed me to suicide!

It was all fine till there were no third party apps installed on it...

I started with my favorite game fruit ninja... it ran super smooth and that really impressed me. It pushed me to a delusion that my phone was better than Apple [One doesn’t simply compare a phone to Apple!]. That was the level of my confidence during the first week from the day I bought it.

Now starts the “Lament of the creamed phone”…

2^nd week

I kept on installing more and more apps like some 30 more than the inbuilt apps.. Confident that it would take that much, considering that dual core phones support more than hundred 3^rd party apps and still run smooth..

When I reached that mark my phone literally started choking, nothing worked. I could hear it writhing as it muffled “kill me, please!”, Even the message notification popped up only after some half an hour (I’m not exaggerating). Similarly the contacts which is a built in app in HTC stopped showing my own contacts when someone called me as a caller ID. During that time I had no clue which bugger was calling me until I lifted the phone.

And then it struck me ‘what is the basic use of a phone?’

To make calls in the first place and then comes messaging which is really necessary.

Being a smart phone if my phone cannot tell me when I got a message or who’s calling then obviously it aint a smartphone no more… that word has lost all its meaning right there. I would say Nokia’s 1100 is doing a much better job that this piece of crap [I only wish it has an AMOLED screen!]

Priced at 18k rupees when I bought it ,it was pretty decent phones at my price range. And my phone couldn’t fulfill the minimum requirements for being a phone.

Pissed off that I now became Jack who bought the beans from a hag [in this case HTC] only to find the beans never sprouted [in my case, sadly] I started removing all the 3^rd party apps except for temple run (another favorite app of mine) and still found some 15 boring and irritating apps which you’ll never use in your life time, and I couldn't remove them (the worst part!). The preloaded apps were like little douche bags weighing my phone down and slowly killing its soul. Hmm, some would say the phone got Ice Creamed! But heck! Why is this happening to the flag ship series [the One series]?!

So as usual I got fed up with the ICS and started disabling the apps due to which it got even slower. (You can’t even imagine how slow it is).

Now that you know that it has got flaws right in the basic features,It got me thinking, is this because of the RAM I got for this phone?.. and found out it was one of the best explanations.

HTC claims the One V comes with a 512 MB RAM. I believed it…but nobody told me the accessible RAM was only 365. Whichever doomed hell the ICS sent the rest of the 147 MB to!.. And to add fire to the already burning spit, I was enraged to find the Samsung Ace came with a 420MB RAM, precious memory that could have saved my phone from such a disastrous state. If you are reading this and you work in HTC, I would suggest you to please go sodomize yourself with a retractable baton. Cheap advertising tactics to attract market sentiments has costed your company my wrath!

Recently when I thought I could compete with Ace Plus, we started the temple run app on both the devices with all the background apps closed. It took me 30 seconds extra for my phone to show up that play page of the game when compared to Ace Plus which took only 30 seconds to start-up (which is far better).

Why did I buy this phone? God why me?

Okay now something good to make myself feel good.

From WWII till Vietnam War, the US Army had, among its plethora of personnel weaponry a very basic kit item, The M1 Helmet. Made from a single piece of steel it offered more of a morale support rather than the actual purpose of deflecting any bullets. Although the same construction enabled it to be used as cooking pot sometimes. I could say my views on the HTC One V is very similar to this. It does everything except what it was actually meant to.

The camera –awesome it is, but if you due to some reason forget to close the app it will drain your battery in just one hour max, and because One V comes with a aluminum body (which is a good thing) it heats up to a level where you can literally have a bull’s-eye on it and that is sad. And also thanks to its so sought after aluminum body, my phone has got a knick name “pressure cooker”. Hats off to all HTC engineers out there, in which ever commie sweatshops you are assembling this piece of elegant crap!

Some of the inbuilt apps crashes which request for a feedback, I even tried that and still don’t know what they are doing with that.

And then I asked my friends with Sony Ericson and Xperia phones who recently got upgraded from ginger bread to ICS ,they complained that even the contact list is scrolling with a lag and they could readily tell the difference.

So I ask whether there is a necessity to give an ICS update for 1 GHz and 512mb RAM (actually 365 in my case). I would say no please do an upgrade only if it is necessary and if the device can hold it. [I would prefer you revisit the first line of this post again!]

And if you are still going to buy HTC One V after reading this, why don’t you kiss my ass!

Lets just hope the jellybean update for phones preloaded with ICS don't take much time...

|<\/|3

Prototype 2 - Why the bloodshed, people?

2012-08-06T20:13:00.000+05:30

The game is a true master piece and for all you people out there who haven't played Prototype, this game is bound to amaze every single mind there.
The graphics is fluid as ever and the game is nimble on any computer. The controls are real simple although using combos needs a little practice. However, its an immersive gameplay and one can get lost in the realm of killing infected.. oh just for the fun of pulping some meat!

This game features a new protagonist James Heller, who is in a mad rage to kill the antagonist Alex Mercer (yes that's right!). At the beginning of the game, the two characters meet and Alex transfers a part of his virus onto Heller turning him into a mutant just like Alex. As he proceeds with missions he recieves assistance from certain characters such as Father Guerra and Dr Keonig and Sabrina (from Gentek). Its better I take moment here before I start spewing spoilers.

Now for all you players out there who is having their first encounter with the prototype franchise, this game is bound to rock your world. Maybe have some disturbing effects in your ethos considering all the blood and gore. However for all the people out there enjoying the massacre, I'd suggest all of you to buy a gun and shoot yourselves... ya'll are a threat to mankind.

'Nuff said, what about people who have embodied the character of Alex Mercer. Hmm well there are certain plus and minuses in the game very noticeable.
As always let me start with the Cons:
The game prototype always gave us the god factor, the good feeling of tearing up harmless zombies just for kicks. Now, the very same is possible here however certain characters such as hunters have been removed and replaced with Brawlers. The brawlers make hunters look like pussycats. So in short, you lose the 'oomph factor'. Players now have to work harder to kill the beast after his ass.
Also the paraphernalia of mutations have been reduced in the power wheel and rather than having an exo-skeletal armor the new player is equipped with double shield that deploys with a key stoke. Here, all the loss i can think of is the 'look' of the player. However the new shields look menacing with the spike upgrade.

But its sad to notice the game got a lot more easier than the usual prototype, with all the new powers Heller acquired [the challenges are simpler as the player need not think too much tactics...his powers will help the gamer make the best moves]. However fly-kicks to the chopper and tanks feel weak and unresponsive at times. And the Hammer-fist and claw power feels weaker than earlier Prototype. But of course special combos to break them do come in handy [as shown in the video!]
And oh no! there is neither patsy nor artillery strike in this new game. But there is one new power...

But the Pros just outweigh it all.
For beginners, He is black! I am no racist but an Afro-american character really adds to the personality. Actually, Heller makes Mercer quite a boring character. The dialogues in this game are definite keepers.

I specifically remember one between a Sergeant and a Major

"Major: The infected are running around everywhere, I need the situation un-fucked!
Sargent: The situation will be un-fucked sir!"

The Black-watch troopers look really futuristic with their new suits [unlike their flimsy previous counterparts] while the military looks the same. The weaponry are the same except for the new TOW missile array and chain-guns and rocket pods one may break off a tank or a chopper. This greatly increases the player lethality [Woohoo!]

The absolutely mind-blowing parts are how every character one meets in the game are a mutant with their own super powers. This kinda increases the heat a player may face. And well proves my point that the gamer ain't god no more! And the hydras appear real early in the game and they can be a real pain. No more hives, you now get underground lairs which you gotta hunt for and destroy.

An awesome new feature is the "Hunt". A viral Sonar than u ping and the return ping lets you know the location of your POI [Person of Interest]. This new power also helps the player a lot in stealth kill, but reduces the challenge you feel [something that was comparable to Hitman in the earlier game]. The game just screams at you "consume me! consume me!"
Players will also be able to dismember enemies, a force that will become more useful as the game progresses.
Go-Bloody!!

New powers include Tendril which sprouts from the players hands and create something called "The Black hole". With this power the tendril bore down a victim and spread out more tendrils pulling every object into the victim in the entire vicinity. It would be a crime if i forgot about the Bio-bomb [inject the virus and throw the victim and watch him pop and devastate the whole frigging place!].

This is great against Tanks and Helos [not as powerful as ones we saw in Prototype]. The player also can "dodge" attacks from the monsters he encounters and this can be really handy at times. And also the new dodge move looks really cool in Slow-mo. And well the new power I aforementioned was Heller can summon and Control brawlers, which looks super cool against the Black-watch.

The player gets double air-dash right from the start and he may slowly upgrade them. The upgrades are really interesting and the combos are pretty neat compared to the earlier game. [I haven't actually finished the game properly though]. A new Black-net system is introduced in the game and once a POI is consumed his profile can be used to hack into the Black-net and start new side missions. The earlier side missions have been replaced by these new ones and are actually much more fun to play. Also, players have a lot of collectibles such as Black-boxes which have interesting recordings and Field ops teams which you may kill to stall Black-watch's operations in Bio-warfare.

Once in a while you may find Brawlers in captivity containing DNA vital for evolution. Consuming them increases your Exp points. Also soldiers with extra talents in specific weaponry can be consumed to increase your skills.

The new super soldiers dubbed Orion Phase 1 and Orion Phase 2 are challenging and new opponents such as Juggernauts are a real pain to kill. For all you hemophiliacs this game is definitely gonna please you.

However it gets me wondering why does a government want to try some life threatening drugs on its own citizens? Does it make sense to try some biological weaponry on its own soil and find that its gone out of control! Shouldn't they have seen it coming? This aspect makes the whole game feel like its a desperate attempt to drag the franchise. And also the comic states the virus spread everywhere and after 2 years of Mercer's relentless effort to eradicate it [which he finally succeeds] he is betrayed by his lover and to vent his anger again re-releases the virus into New York making it NYZ. God? Why!. Mercer starts a new plan for building an army of mutants to combat the Black-watch... but are they really that powerful? Are the Black-watch worth all this pain? I don't feel so...
Its a game of unquestionable and perhaps disturbing ethos, but for whatever its worth, this game really delivers what you expect from seeing the Front cover...

Now for the spoilers...

2 years after the events of the original game, sergeant James Heller, after returning from touring in Iraq, discovers his wife and daughter to be declared dead, causing him to rejoin the military in the fight for NYZ against the Mercer Virus. Heller is briefed on the previous outbreaks in Idaho in the 60's and in NYZ in the events of the first game.

Pursuing Mercer for vengeance, Heller is infected by Mercer with a strain that imbues him with similar superpowers. After blacking out, Heller awakens in a yellow zone lab where Gentek scientist Dr. Koenig and Blackwatch soldier Col. Rooks are experimenting on him. Heller escapes the Gentek base, when Mercer confronts him and claims Gentek and Blackwatch are responsible for recreating and cultivating the Mercer virus, making them responsible for the second infection and the deaths of Heller's family. Revealing his plans to take down Gentek and Blackwatch, Mercer offers a truce to Heller; Heller, unsure of Mercer's intentions, goes to his local parishioner, Father Guerra, for advice and help.

Using information supplied by Guerra, Heller hacks into Blacknet Terminals to find out about and sabotage a number of their operations. Gradually consuming his way through Blackwatch, Heller eventually finds and attacks Koening, only to find the doctor has superhuman powers similar to Heller, and is one of several "Evolved" agents planted in Gentek and Blackwatch by Mercer. After defeating and consuming the doctor, Heller finds Mercer intends to recruit him in an attempt to control NYZ. His doubts growing, Guerra then shows Heller a video tape of Mercer releasing the virus for the second time in Penn Station, the same place Mercer originally released and contracted the virus.

Enraged that Mercer lied to him, Heller sets off to the green zone to pursue and murder Mercer's accomplices, including an Evolved agent in Gentek named Sabrina Galloway; upon confronting Galloway, however, Heller reluctantly teams up with her when she reveals she can help him take down Mercer. With Galloway's help, Heller soon finds that Mercer plans to infect the entire world through "Whitelight", a contaminated vaccine released by Gentek that actually serves to accelerate infection and evolution rather than prevent it.

Frustrated with Heller sabotaging his plans, Mercer kills Father Guerra; upon finding his corpse, however, a grieving Heller uses Guerra's phone to reach Athena, Guerra's contact who is revealed to be Dana Mercer. Dana explains that Heller's daughter, Maya, is still alive, prompting Heller to head for the red zone to take down Mercer and to save Maya. After preventing Blackwatch's second attempt to levelManhattan Island, Col. Rooks helps Heller reach his daughter, only for Galloway to betray him and take Maya to Mercer. Upon confronting Mercer, Alex reveals he plans to solve international conflicts and world problems by infecting the entire human race, effectively creating a Superorganism with Maya at the center. After Mercer absorbs Galloway and several evolved, he attacks Heller, only for the latter to emerge victorious.

Taking Mercer's role as head infected, Heller wipes out the infected in NYZ along with most of the Blacklight Virus; then using Mercer's absorbed memories, Heller locates and frees Maya and Dana from a vault. The story then ends with the three overlooking New York before Dana questions what to do next.

Sounds real good! Really? what next! [ A third sequel is possible! according to the comics]

Even though the game is bereft of much logic, Just for the absolute bloodshed I'd still give it 8.5/10!

@n!

Coming this year! To knock the crap outta your ass!

2012-07-30T00:00:00.001+05:30

Maybe this list might leave some of you out there spasmodic from sheer orgasms but for all you gamer fans out there i have one message!

If the world is going to end this year.. i don't think we will die disappointed

Maybe I'll start with the games that are out and bringing smiles on peoples face.

The ones that hath cometh!
Top of the List:

Max Payne 3

Was it ever a doubt? It was as if God wanted to spread his messages about happiness and did so with Rockstar games [North or South i don't give a shit!]

So just all the good things that take time to incubate, The Max Payne franchise took a hell lot of time to get their asses back in the game business. And they did that in style. They sure did spend quality time on this one and I can see why that's keeping me from finishing this whole article completely.

The game play is so smooth that one may wonder "is it a game? or is it a movie that i can enact?". Its no illusion and the game has something to offer which no other gaming franchise can provide us. The "stardom" feel. Amusing the player with countless sarcasms and one helluva story [in style] this game definitely made me realize how good it was to be alive.

Max Payne: King Of Sarcasm!!

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldiers

Well it might not be the flashiest game in the graphics department but for the game play i gotta give it to them. With the myriad paraphernalia of technological goodness that i carry with me, i finally got to play god on my victims [definitely going medieval on their asses]. And the crew just makes things so much more fun!! Folks ya'll gonna hate me for sure and may never return to this website ever again but this game just owned Call Of Duty in game play [Mostly because its from Tom Clancy.. from the biggest fan]. My eyes welled up when i got to customize the tech and gear in the game. Definitely, this game makes u feel like one of those Special forces [..u can never be]. I guess this means the game is doing its job very well. Although the story might not be as good as COD this one is a definite keeper for the Guerrilla and Multiplayer mode.

Spec Ops: The Line

What if in my virtual world the games got to cross breed and Just Cause 2, Uncharted 3 and Rainbow Six had a threesome? The resultant mutation would be Spec Ops: The Line [for PC..and yea i have a filthy mind, thank you!]. An amazing game that ended too soon, but the psychopathic story made up for all the disappointments. It showed me how 3 men can easily destroy an entire army but also how easily that team can be reduced to a single person [of course the protagonist]. But hey, we always wanna stay alive! The real beauty of this game is the user interface and the LAN. Well this game is one of them, that run on any crappy comps with a decent graphic card and RAM. Which means one can include all his friends to play LAN [a very important criterion]. But the bullets just aren't enough!!!! [was that for extra fun?]
Detailed Review

Prototype 2:

Here is a detailed review!

Games To Be!!

These are the game i am expecting [err sorry! we are all expecting] to see in the near future. You could also say, its the hope of them releasing, is one of the reason for me to stay alive. Without them I would rather shoot myself in the head with college being such a pain in the ass... Oh wait! how would i know how to shoot if not for those very games!!

Oh man! where do i begin.. it would be disrespectful if i dont start with..

Hitman Absolution:

From the moment i saw the game play trailer, my eyes were transfixed on this mystery man who made stalking so much fun! There were days when i was absorbed into Hitman so much that i used to crouch up behind my friends and surprise them [as if i was using the rope]. Eidos, if you are seeing this post or not...You did gamer-kind a huge favor, we will never forget you.

Crysis 3:

This has to come next!! Again, this is one of those games that screwed up with my head, made me feel invincible. Armor activated! was my cry before my friends and i started friendly fights. The game literally makes one feel mechanical, something no other game can offer. Its a believable concept, more like Batman [with advances in nanotechnology]. This game doesnt disappoint us in the graphics section as u can evidently make out from the video. This game is definitely gonna take gaming to another level [dont forget multiplayer]

Splinter Cell: Blacklist

Hmm where do I begin? I need to measure each word i type for this game out of respect to what I am talking about. One of the best shooter franchise, its getting better than ever. If some people on the earth are to stay immortal, then Tom Clancy should be one of them [i wished Heath Ledger made that list! Damn!!]. This game is just getting better and better with improved game play. New characters and an amazing story of terrorism in native soil [USA], shits pretty bad with the new fourth echelon replacing the Third.

Unlike other franchise with their new releases being an improvement to the graphics and game engine, Splinter cell: Blacklist has considerable upgrades in game play as well. Ubisoft is kicking into high gear with some amazing games and its very evident from Black List. Blacklist introduces a new game play mechanic called killing in motion, allowing the player to highlight targets and take them out in quick succession, with a new fluidity while on the run.

Check out this trailer for more!

Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2

This game franchise never failed us, which is something really difficult to do considering the vast number of games that get released every year. One may realize the investment Treyarch made to get this game on a platform way above the others when considering the fact that they got David S Goyer to write the game plot. For all those who are befuddled by magnitude of this news - He is the guy who wrote the script for Batman Trilogy! And well the addition that some key characters in the game are not dead, makes you really want to pounce on that DVD case.

Battlefield 4

Well there is little known about this sequel, however there are news that its bringing way more fire power in the graphics department that its all time competitor COD. DICE has been working on an improved Frostbite engine [most probably upgrading version 2] and the game is being targeted for the next gen consoles [Xbox 720,Sony PS4,Nintendo Wii U]. Lets hope the PC fans aren't disappointed. However the game play video looks surreal, we can expect more of the videos soon.

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Patriot

Well well well..what have we got here!
Finally someone realized! hey look, we need that game back in the charts. And so i finally hear the Rainbow Six series is bringing out the new sequel of its franchise - Patriot. The usual terrorism deal but come on! its Tom Clancy we are talking about, aint gonna be like those Call Of Duty or Medal Of Honor! Its gonna be way different.. very noticeable from the trailer itself.

The story for the single-player experience will deal with a terrorist American populist group calling themselves the 'True Patriots' which is the inspiration for the game's subtitle. On December 10, 2011, this trailer was released revealing the "True Patriots" to be in New York City. After taking control of a bridge, they approach a civilian strapped with a dead man switch and realize its too late to save him. They throw the civilian off the bridge.

Counter Strike:Global Offensive

If ya'll miss the old days when a bunch of your friends got together in your basement, hooked up their laptops and rigs on a switch one of em brought along and played Counter Strike 1.6 as if ya'll were waiting for the Four Horsemen to come knock on the door and announce the world has ended [phew!] then this game is gonna add four more players into the game [maybe even 8..if its not too far fetched to include the horses..]

This game is bringing more than just the usual bomb planting and diffusion. Global Offensive is planned to launch with Bomb Defusal, Hostage Rescue and two new game modes called Arms Race and Demolition. These new modes are collectively referred to as "Arsenal mode" and just like the ones in Counter Strike and Counter Strike: Source. Unlike other game modes Arms Race is a death-match-based mode where each player is rewarded for each kill with a new weapon, with the first player to get a kill with every weapon in a predetermined set winning the game. Demolition is a round based mode that removes weapon and equipment purchasing, instead challenging players by giving a set of progressively weaker weapons for each kill.

Global Offensive adds new weapons and equipment not seen in previous installments, most notably the Molotov cocktail which temporarily covers a small area in fire, making it impossible to pass through without taking damage.

Woohoo!! The Russian's influence all the games!

Far Cry 3:

"Jason! Look at this game! Unbelievable!! "

If you ever venture into the Oceans and get stuck on an island clambering with crazed inhabitants, you need practice to get out of there. Far Cry 3 will help you with just that! As always this game is about survival [which we all are proficient in - thanks to Bear Grylls]. Anyway, with such amazing graphics this game is going to be a hoot and a half! Oh, its going to be way more than that! With better stealth mech and take-down in melee [thanks to demo] and a map about ten times Far-cry 2, its definitely gonna be kick ass! The trailer does the rest of the talking..

Dead Space 3:

Writing the title gives me goosebumps, this game can make a grown man wet his pants...and well it makes amnesia look like the screen saver game of windows 98. I don't want to get too rough on the other games but i am still perplexed about how they can make the game more scary when they are actually adding a character [John Carver] to accompany Issac Clark. This is going to be fun!! No other game could ever make me feel absorbed like this one. From the way the menu screen looks, Dead Space 2 stunned me to the core. Oh god, have mercy on my soul.. don't give me a heart attack when i play dead space 3...

Medal Of Honor: War fighter

Everything about the game causes Deja vu. Firstly, the game engine is Frostbite 2 which is.... same as Battlefield Bad Company 2. So the so-called features they boast about are all what everyone has seen and experienced. The micro destruction, the high def audio, realistic graphics of BF etc. nonetheless this game can still be a keeper if the story is good. So lets hope they have done something as stunning as Medal Of Honor [2011]. Godspeed gentlemen! One can never overlook the fact that MOH always have true incidents as their story line... and a very interesting info about this game is the inclusion of almost all the special forces in the world [for multiplayer].

I don't want to get too jumpy but there is something that these games can offer which i bet your girlfriends can't. At least mine didn't... the satisfaction that we can change the world, if not real then at least the virtual ones and that we have control and whatever happens we will always be the last surviving person in a raging battle [never works with GF, see? told ya!]...

Share and Enjoy! @n!

Enabling WiFi file transfer on phones without WiFi direct

2012-07-19T18:06:00.002+05:30

Well we see phones today enabled with WiFi Direct and you may find yourself sitting like a goof with an ancient piece of junk in your hands [in my case my galaxy SL i9003] and wondering "god why me?!' why no WiFi direct?

well if god didn't answer u ..maybe he didn't love u so much.. but as always ill give u an idea buster!
well if u can't beat em.. find a way through them
and i found just that through an app..well 2 apps..

Air droid and UC browser

Android is nothing but a dumbed down version of Linux in your phone. and so using ways to get through is easy once you have the tools... in this case the apps

So we essentially need some sort of FTP(File Transfer Protocol) between 2 phones. And now ill explain the step by step procedure.
With this kind of connection you can be assured a connection of up to Mbps and well that's enough for most of the transfers.

Continue...

Now WiFi direct is a local connection between 2 phones through the WiFi connection. In our case when the phones don't have WiFi direct, lets have one phone as the host and the other as client.

Step 1:
in the designated host phone, switch on the WiFi hot spot. [note that Samsung doesn't support WiFi hot spot in flight mode or when there is no signal unlike HTC]

Step 2:
Enable WiFi in the client phone and connect to the host WiFi hot spot. This way in effect both of your phones are connected through WiFi [as in a local WiFi link]

Step 3:

Now in the client phone [the phone u connected the WiFi to] switch on Air droid. It will automatically configure and spit out an IP address and a pass code.

Step 4:

In the server phone, go to UC browser [ i suggest this coz its the most stable of all browser..yes! even chrome!actually chrome sucks right now on android,they gotta pour in some more updates] and type in the IP and port address. And then when u r greeted with that air droid home screen enter with the Pass code. you will get a screen as shown.

Step 5:

Next, browse through the file using the Air droid's interface and select the file u want and download. the UC browser will prompt you for the file location. Start download
Shown here..

Step 6:
Watch the downloads zip through at the same speed as any WiFi direct connection. there has been problem with connection between HTC and Samsung WiFi direct. this method is the most stable way of connecting 2 phones for File transfer without WiFi direct.

You can see the transfer speed of consecutive screen shots taken.

Share and enjoy!!

Spec Ops The Line.... Special Oops!

2012-07-16T22:05:00.001+05:30

Ah!

After a long time, i finally have the freedom to write again, and well enough motivation to continue considering i made only 10 bucks from this site this year. But i can't complain for the eternal web always provides me with the fodder to write anytime, all the time..

And so i am breaking my silence with a wonderful game i could lay my hands on, Spec Ops: The Line.
The thing about this game is that, by the time you read this far, u might have already finished the game. Its so saddening, just the fact that the game is like a hamster you got for your Christmas gift that couldn't survive till spring break. The game was shorter than, well 2 episodes of Sherlock... but so much enjoyable!!

You start off with a torn american flag in the middle of the Saudi desert and the first level puts you at the edge shooting choppers off the skies only to be treated to a cliched "the flashback" game play.A thrilling 3rd person that ended like a premature ejaculation of a 16 year old, amazing yet screwed up experience for him..as the same with the game.

However the game surprised the crap out of me with the vivid ambient object, environment, occlusion and well... player models and gun textures and almost everything. The control felt fluid and the game ran like butter on a hot pan.

Every moment of this game would have been enjoyable, but just when things feel comfortable I realize that if I were a guy with just one key on my keyboard, this game would have been my one and only choice. Everything is controlled with a couple of keys, double tapping almost every key which is so irritating. We all got used to the COD and Counter Strike and game of such liking and a total transitioning in the controls is just impossible for our brains. Unless you have a controller. which is a different issue altogether. As for spec tactics the whole place is full of sand so throwing grenades throws up sand and blinds your enemies and you may shoot glass panels holding huge amounts of sand to wash away your enemies.

The lunatics in their ranking include the bayonets who charge at u with a knife like a hippie on drugs and the heavy [freakishly close to Yuri's costume in COD:MW3 ending] packed with armor. Grenades are of three types and all are scarce while you may command your team mates to help you by locking targets for them and ordering grenade lobbing.

The levels are challenging and one could stop in the middle and admire the scenic vistas in the game "which i did coz i didn't want the game to end too fast".
they say ammo is equivalent to gold [which is so fucking true in this game] however i felt crippled when i found that every time i restarted a checkpoint [coz i died] i got a little extra ammo... "i don't need your charity motherfucker!!" but it helped and well if u replay same checkpoint one too many times a dialogue box asks u if u wanna level down [that's an order Walker!]

Spoiler Alert!

The game is the story of three soldiers Walker, Adams and Lugo searching for the damned 33rd Company sent out to rescue civilians before the sandstorm destroys the entire Dubai [which btw is a no-mans land]. Events happen as they find out 33rd has gone rogue and are against any americans and the CIA. They step into the enemies lair trying to finish off the rogues before any damage happens and are actually led to a trap [pfff as always!]. Here a CIA agent named Goud helps them out and in the process he is killed. Eventuallly Lugo and Adams too lose their life for Walker[you] and at the end you try to seek revenge for all that has happened only to find the person responsible was dead long back. Walker was actually hallucinating about every threat he faced and in the process killed innocent lives. Yes! the innocent blood in your hands! The intels [which they copied from COD..only much better] can be easily found as they glow making this game a fulfilling action fun.

The climax was amazing and that made me play the game all over again. Oh u read till here, by now you would have finished the game all over again too! If you are having a lazy Sunday evening with nothing better to do, start this game and by tea you would have finished it clean.

the multiplayer is clean and simple. Steam or lan and just like COD you get to rank up and unlock camos and weapons and spec tactics..

all in all its like an relly delicious cupcake..only bite sized.
I'd give it 7.5/10 for its gameplay and graphics

Symbian Anna

2011-10-17T13:23:00.003+05:30

This one's about the latest firmware update for Nokia's Symbian^3 "Smart-phones", The Symbian Anna.

Key features:
virtual QWERTY keypad in portrait mode, split-screen text input, an updated web browser, stronger security, an updated icon set and improved Maps functionality. Plus the Nokia C7 gains activation of its NFC chip.

Looks:
there's not much of a appearance change, its still very boring like other Symbian. The icons are derived from the existing icongraphy, but with rounded edges.

Update:

The Anna update has two stages:

Updating the core OS to v22 firmware (Anna) - this can be done over the air (OTA), e.g. through Device Manager, *#0000# on the Call screen and 'Check for updates', or via Ovi Suite.
Installation of some additional software and application updates (including Quickoffice and Adobe reader). This is principally done using the 'Sw Update' application (look for "Symbian Anna Update 1/2" and "Symbian Anna Update 2/2", shown above, right). Note that at least one of these extra updates normally 'fails' on the first time you run it. Try again immediately. If that doesn't work, restart the device and try again - all our devices updated fully - eventually!

What's New:

1. Improved text input usability through the introduction of a portrait QWERTY keyboard and widespread use of split screen input. Split screen overlays text entry input boxes on existing screen elements and works in both portrait and landscape orientations. For example, in Maps a search can be entered and auto-completed results seen as you enter text. Similarly, in Messaging, when you reply to a message in Conversations view you can see previous messages in the thread. The portrait keyboard also enables Swype in portrait mode, giving you another input option (note you need to install Swype app from Ovi Store).

2. Updated Web application with a more intuitive user interface and faster performance. This includes a standard location for the address bar at the top of the page (with improved auto-complete, which benefits from the new split screen text entry), visual back button accessible at all times (bottom left), and a redesigned and more responsive 'quick menu access' floating button. Performance of page rendering has been improved, with an updated version of WebKit and improved scrolling and page navigation performance. It also offers better compliance with recent standards. The Web application continues to be based on the Symbian WebKit code base.

3. Ovi Maps 3.6, which is already available for existing devices (it recently graduated from Beta Labs). The major features in this version are improved search, the ability to share a location via email and SMS (including to non-Nokia phones), public transport overlays to map view, improved social check-in functionality and the ability to download country maps directly to the device over the air.

4. Updated version of Social application (version 1.3.237), with new icon and improved performance. Previously available as an update via the Sw update application.

5. Updated Calendar application, which gains a split-screen month/day view.

6. Updated Photos application, which now opens straight into photo grid, rather than album / folder list view.

7. Updated Camera application, with reworked icons and UI elements, clearer indicator icons on the corners, direct return to the viewfinder after the setting of scene modes.

8. Updated Mail application, with better use and layout of UI elements (most notably in email lists), faster rendering and scrolling of HTML emails and improved stability

9. [Nokia C7 only]: The NFC (Near Field Communication) hardware in the Nokia C7 is activated by the update. It allows you tap C7's together to share contacts, photos, video and play games. In addition, NFC-enabled accessories can be paired by tapping and the device can be used to read NFC tags.

10. If 'Theme effects' are turned on, application loading is accompanied by a small circular animation to let the user know that something's happening. Previously loading applications would result in a short pause and a fade to black into the application.

11. Over 100 under-the-hood optimization and bug fixes. In general this means you'll notice both smoother and faster operations during usage.

12. Marking is much easier with the Mark Mode in File manager and in Photos, far far better than the original marking procedure of Nokia.

For split screen input in conversations one has to remove the ConversationAppl and ConvServer apps from installed apps.

What Sucks:

1. After the update phone is particularly slow and a little non responsive, not what smart-phone users are looking for.

2. Some users still can't get the split screen input view even after removing the 2 Apps.

3. The music player has few bugs. Some users complain that Shuffle is turned 'on' automatically. Other difficulty I face is with the Shuffle turned 'on' if i select a song from the list the Shuffle is turned 'off'. WTF man, seriously.

4. Mobile Operator Data is needed to connect to the Ovi Store, feature that is hated and from the obvious Blackberry.

5. While input with the prediction 'on' if you traverse to a word back the cursor goes through each and every letter of the word and not the entire word in one go like in the previous versions of Symbian. I found this quite annoying.

6. The Ovi Store is a big let down, after all there are not much of free-apps that are good enough. But hurray Fruit Ninja full version is free.

7. Lets face it, The Symbian Anna is no Android or Apple's Ios. Yes, Nokia has done a lot to come up this but they still got a lot of work to do to compete with the Ios and Android phones to whom Nokia is losing the smart-phone market or should i say LOST!

8. Nokia actually released the C7 with NFC Chip without any notice just because they did not have the software developed for it. Only after the Anna update we even know that its there.

Coming soon...

Nokia is too concerned about the smart-phone market and is desperate to bounce back. Will the Symbian Belle be it? can it save Nokia, we will have to wait till the end of November to get our hands on it.

Bottom-line:
The Symbian Anna definitely has some lag and a tiny bit not responsive enough but it sure solves the problem of the phone freezing and restarting time and time again during use while on Symbian^3. The Anna sure beats Symbian^3 but not enough for Android or Ios, hoping that Belle will be pleasing enough, atleast.

Until next time, its Subangh. Be Updated by hooking into
http://www.technomaniacz.com/

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 vs. Acer Iconia Tab A500 vs. Apple iPad 2

2011-05-06T21:50:00.013+05:30

The Indian tablet market sure is heating up, with the Apple iPad 2 recently being officially introduced, as well as the first Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablet - Acer Iconia Tab A500 . Samsung is also due to make an appearance with its Honeycomb tablet, the Galaxy Tab 10.1, by July, and the Motorola Xoom is also expected soon. Will the Acer Iconia Tab A500 have enough muscle to take on the Apple iPad 2, and the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 - which boasts of the same dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 processor?

We've taken a look at just how well it stacks up against them in terms of specifications, in the table below. While we can't declare a winner just by looking at them, we can safely say that the Iconia Tab A500 is a strong contender, especially at its Rs. 27,990 price point. It will make a major impact in the market as the first proper Honeycomb tablet in the country, and with its solid feature set, and the choice of the upcoming 3G model will only make things very interesting for the consumer.

Tablet	Acer Iconia Tab A500	Apple iPad 2	Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
OS	Android 3.0 (Honeycomb)	iOS 4.3.3	Android 3.0 (Honeycomb)
Screen size, resolution, type	10.1-inch@1280x800 TFT LCD screen	9.7-inch@1024x768 IPS LCD screen	10.1-inch@1280x800 TFT LCD screen
Processor	Nvidia Tegra 2 Dual Core 1GHz	A5 Dual Core 1GHz	Nvidia Tegra 2 Dual Core 1GHz
Storage	16GB	16/32/64GB	16/32GB
Cameras: Rear/Front	5MP/2MP	1MP/VGA	8MP/2MP
Video recording	720p	720p	1080p
Flash support	Yes	No	Yes
Connectivity: WiFi/3G/Bluetooth	Yes/Yes/Yes	Yes/Yes/Yes	Yes/Yes/Yes
Ports: USB/HDMI	Yes/Yes	No/Yes(through add-on cable)	Yes/Yes
Card Reader	Yes	No	Yes
Battery Capacity	3260 mAh	NA	6860 mAh

check out the hands-on videos!

world's smallest game ever!!!

2011-05-04T12:42:00.000+05:30

This is the link for the worlds smallest game!! http://probablyinteractive.com/url-hunter# 01|-------------------a--O--a----------------------------------|01

Tech2011 - What will be

2011-03-07T11:16:00.001+05:30

Tablets and Mobiles:

Sony PSP2

The new Sony PSP2 comes with a quad core ARM Cortex-A9 processor, Dual analogue sticks, front and rear cameras, Dual rear touch pads, High Res 960x544 5 inch OLED capacitive touch screen, accelerometers, Digital compass, GPS, 3G and wifi connectivity. This is going to be Sony's ultimate answer to all those handheld gaming device in market. Uses a heavily customized Android 2.3 OS and is due to release this December.

NoteSlate Tablet

Replacement for paper is here. The new NoteSlate tablet is to be released by June this year for $99

Samsung Galaxy S II

Announced to be launched in parts of Asia and Europe by March this year. Comes with a Gorilla Glass covered 800x480 Super AMOLED which is supposed to be better than Apple's Retina Display Screen.
It comes with a Dual core Samsung Orion SoC processor and 1 GB of RAM. The OS is Android's GingerBread.

LG Optimus Pad & LG Optimus 3D

LG comes into the Tablet market punching its way to the spot light with LG Optimus Pad. Capable of 3D recording with 2 5MP camers with a 1080 HD video capture support. It comes with an 8.9 inch screen for maximum playability.

The new LG Optimus 3D smart phone also surprised us with the Glasses free 3D screen and Dual 5MP cameras for 3D recording with capability of recording 720p HD video and 1080p HD 2D video. It comes with a TIOMAP 4430 processor, Dual core 1 Ghz ARM Cortex A9 processor and PowerVR SGX540 GPU.

Acer Tablet Wars

Acer to bring in 3 more new tablets as the part of their Iconia series. We are not sure of the OS whether its Windows 7 or Android. Hopefully its going to be cheaper than ther first Iconia tablet

Sony Experia Play

The much awaited PSP phone, the new Sony Experia Play is to be released this March. With a slide out screen housing PSP gamepad, it runs on a 2.3 Gingerbread Android OS and will have over 50 game titles to choose from.

Cheaper iPhones

Apple planning to launch cheaper iPhones. Read more

Processors and GPU:

GTX 590 Graphic Card

The monster is soon to be unleashed with the first Dual GPU GeForce 590 Graphic card coming soon.

Corrected Sandy Bridge
New corrected Logic chip processors have been shipped out by Intel. These new chips have the new B3 Stepping improving the lifetime of the processor.

Intel Brings out 10 Core processor.

Westmere EX Xeon processor, the 10 Core server grade processor, is said to be released in the first half of this year.

Intel 14 nm Fabrication Unit

Intel is pushing technology to its limits as usual. This time with the 14 nm Fabrication unit in US. This new venture has cost Intel a whopping $ 5 billion. We can surely see a major rise in the number of Cores of the upcoming Intel processors.

Intel Core i7 990x

The i7 series extreme processor stable gets a new product with the Intel i7 990x. With 6 cores and 3.46 GHz per core 12MB cache this processor will be having the alpha spot for quite some time.

Internet and Gaming:

Google Music
Google to start music service soon. The Hindi version has been launched in India [click here]. Read more

PS3 piracy check.
Sony warns PS3 hackers from hacking PS3s. Users trying to hack will be banned from Sony's online service for life. Pretty harsh but it works.

Mozilla Labs opens with Mozilla games with more than 100 games to begin with. Check out more details here

Consumer Electronics:

Kinect SDK

Microsoft to launch its new Kinect SDK by mid-2011.

Intel SSD

Intel to launch new lines of Solid State Drives [codename Elm Crest] in 120 and 250 GB variants.

New MacBook Pros

New MacBook Pro released with latest Intel processor and new GPUs as well. Finally Apple decides to revamp their hardwares.

Memjet Printing technology.

Intead of the printer head moving to spray ink in designated spots the new memjet printing has about 70000 microscopic nozzles in stationary points activated by a main processor hence printing rapidly.

Although thats all we have, more stories are sure to come and you can catch them all right here in TechnoManiacz

Sources: Chip, Digit, Bloomberg, etc

Duty Calls: Big Daddy Of All FPS

2011-02-21T18:37:00.010+05:30

Brilliant is one of the many words that comes to mind when you think of this epic shooter. Striving for perfection in a world of boring and bland shooters, Duty Calls not only sets the bar high — but raises the standards of what a first person shooter in this day and age should be. Every first person shooter should eat their heart out, because this is the sleeper hit that the genre has been waiting for.

Duty Calls: The Calm Before The Storm is a masterpiece in its own right. It has everything a first person shooter fan could ask for. Guns, bad guys, bullets, explosions, and more bad guys. It even has a main bad guy that you must take down before he sets off a nuclear weapon. It’s some pretty gripping shit when you stand back and look at it. No one could have expected how revolutionary this game would be. To say anything bad about this game is just stupid because this game is amazing — end of discussion.

Epic has created a fully playable game that roundly mocks CoD, which is aptly called Duty Calls.

The game isn't the biggest ever; someone has uploaded footage of themselves playing it and it clocks it at just under five minutes - but it is chock-full of parody for a franchise that some think takes itself way too seriously.

The game takes place somewhere and you’ll play as some random soldier who must fight his way through several bad guys, pick up objectives to advance the plot, and eventually reach the main bad guy. You might lose a friend along the way, but it’s all worth it once you reach the end. You’ll level up to super awesome levels as you progress through the game’s campaign. There’s nothing like seeing that new rank pop up on the screen.

What You'll like:

The Gun: Never before has a game offered a gun like this one. Super realistic gun sounds and the way they fire is simply unreal. I’ve never fired a gun before in my entire life, but I can tell you that the ONE gun you get in this game is as close to real life as they get. Just take my word for it, I’m the reviewer here and I say so. Realism has never been achieved in a video game like it was in this one ladies and gentlemen.

The Story: Gripping, stunning, amazing, controversial, emotionally charged — these are all appropriate adjectives to describe the story in this game. Moving from one point to the next, you’ll be left on the edge of your seat the entire time. You can’t wait to see what happens as you move from checkpoint to checkpoint. The game even finds a way to connect with you on an emotional level. Never in your life will you be as enthralled by a story as you will be with Duty Calls. It’s told by a series of gripping cut-scenes and uses techniques like slow motion to help make it that much better. Hollywood or even bollywood should take lessons from this game.

The Gameplay: While Duty Calls sets the bar high in terms of it’s amazing story, the gameplay is beyond revolutionary. No game has ever been able to make the genre feel and play so damn good. The way you have control over your character is amazing. Even the jump is fucking revolutionary. Every other FPS ever created is now a joke by comparison. Ladies and Gentlemen, I think we found our “Halo” or “Call of Duty” killer. You’ll be blown away by the quality of the gameplay in Duty Calls.

The Characters: As you progress through the game, you begin to feel emotionally attached to your character. When you struggle through the hardships of war to reach his objective, you feel yourself growing attached to him. You can relate to him in a way you never thought you could to a virtual character. Aside from him, you can’t help but feel a sense of hatred towards the bad guys. Whether you love or hate the characters, Duty Calls does an amazing job at eliciting some sort of emotional response from you. You’ll love them, hate them, cry for them, but god damn it — you’ll feel something for the characters in this game.

The Leveling System: Revolutionary is the ONLY way to describe it. Never before have players been given a leveling system like this one. Any system before this one can be thrown out the window and be considered flawed or broken. The more you progress, the more you kill, the higher your level will go.

What You Might Not Like:

Nothing: Are u retarded? Duty Calls: The Calm Before The Storm is a masterpiece. No game in the history of video games has set the bar this high. If you have anything bad to say about this game — you can just get the fuck out. Go sell all your video game consoles and games. You my friend are not a gamer if you don’t like Duty Calls!

This is a must play for all the first person shooter fans out there. Even if you’re not a fan of first person shooters, this is DEFINITELY the game for you. Nothing come close to this game. This is the genre defining game that will stand out for years to come. Everything else that follows will be called a “clone” or “generic” by comparison.

To say this is just an “FPS” is an understatement. Folks this is THE FPS. It’s the definitive, end-all, genre defining game. The one that will be talked about for a long time. The bar has been raised like never before, and a new standard has been set. It will be a long time before we see another game come close to Duty Calls: The Calm Before The Storm. Play this game! You’ll be glad that you did.

Here is the torrent link to download the game

The Surprisingly Crowded Smartphone Market

2011-02-20T23:52:00.039+05:30

Finally, here is a brief comparison between the very bitter rivals of the smartphone segment.

1. Apple iphone 4

2. Nokia N8

3. Sony Ericsson Arc

4. Samsung Galaxy S

5. HTC HD7

6. Blackberry Torch 9800

1. Apple Iphone 4:

We all know that there are a lot of iphone fanatics but this phone right here is not what you are looking for. Yes, the iphone 4 has a lot of issues including poor signal reception, requires micro sim card, file sharing through bluetooth only via other Apple products. Coming to the OS part , the iphone 4 uses iOS 4 and its quite good and has a lot of applications to download and use. The phone weighs at 137 gms and is 9.3 mm thick. It has got a primary camera of 5 megapixels with LED flash and the hd video recording is done at 720p@30 fps. The very interesting thing is that the photo flash can be used for video light as well. The screen measures 3.5 inches and is a LED-backlit IPS TFT with capacitive touchscreen interface. The phone has a stainless steel finish and is really sturdy. The battery life is not so good as usual. It has accelerometer sensor for auto rotate, a three axis gyro sensor for excellent gaming experience and a proximity sensor for auto turn off. The phone comes with 16/32 GB storage and no card slots :( The phone runs on the Apple's A4 processor and is supported by a 512 MB RAM, but still multi-tasking is not quite overwhelming. It has two microphones for active noise cancellation.

Price: 40000-42000 INR / around 50000 INR (16GB/32GB)

Bottom-line: Go for it if you don't value money and all you are looking for is fun compromising on some tiny lil features. Good phone over all but not enough to challenge with Android phones. [I do feel thats it a good idea to wait for iPhone Gen 5 hitting the market by around September... There are speculations that this new one has improved hardwares that none can match]

2. Nokia N8 :

N8 is one of the better smart-phones provided by Nokia. But i don't know why Nokia had to go with the Symbian^3 OS for the N8. I have got only two words for it- it sucks, maybe 3 it sucks big-time!!!!!! In the last quarter of 2010 Nokia lost about 7% of smart-phone market to the Google's Android powered smart-phones. Since then Nokia has started to work with Microsoft to provide them with an OS to over-power the Android. But leave all that, coming back to the N8 the battery cannot be removed since it is sealed with screws under the Stainless steel body. One of the very interesting features of the N8 is that an adaptor is provided with the USB cable so that the phone can be connected to external hard disks or pen-drives. This is a very unique thing is very much suited for transfers on the go. N8 has a 12 mega-pixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens. The image quality is simply superb and the video recording is hd and @25 fps. The phone has a 512 MB RAM and multi-tasking is quite good. It has a 3.5 inch OLED screen which is no deal when compared to the Super AMOLED of the Samsung Galaxy S. This time Nokia came up only with a single hardware key below the screen and a keypad lock key at the right side. Nokia gets the upper-hand in providing very superior battery life.

Price: 24000 INR

Bottom-line: Everything is awesome about the phone except for that bull-shit Symbian^3 OS.

3. Sony Ericsson Arc :

The much awaited Xperia Arc is due to be released at the end of the first quarter of 2011. It is just 8.7mm thick and is very light @ 117 gms. The Arc is run by 1GHz Scorpion processor, Adreno 205 GPU, Qualcom MSM8255 Snapdragon and a 512 MB RAM. The screen is LED-backlit LCD and measures 4.2 inches and is rather long than wide. The card slot is micro SD and is expandable upto 32 GB. The Camera is 8 megapixels and takes excellent snaps paired with the LED flash. Some additional features include touch focus, smile and face detection, geo tagging and image stabilization. Sadly no secondary camera available. The Xperia Arc will be the first phone to run on the Android OS, v2.3 Gingerbread.

Price: 30000-35000 INR (rumoured)

Bottom-line: The phone looks like 4-5 sheets of papers stacked on. Awesome offering and is sure to shake up Samsung's Galaxy S!

4. Samsung Galaxy S :

This phone right here is Samsung's Masterpiece. The phone has very less or no flaws to speak about. It has no flash, no flash support for web browser, the loudspeaker is really feeble that you cannot simply call it a "loud"-speaker. The all plastic body makes it all the more lighter and thinner. It weighs at 118 gms and is 9.9mm thick. Multitasks with 1GHz Cortex A8 Hummingbird combined with 512 MB RAM and 2GB ROM. The huge 4 inch Super AMOLED screen is the best in a phone till date (forgetting about the much hyped Retina Display of Apple). The 5 megapixel camera has smile, face and blink detection and captures videos in HD. There is a secondary camera for video calling. Galaxy S comes with internal memory of 8/16 GB with hot-swappable slot for micro-SD cards upto 32GB. The phone runs on Android OS, v2.1 Eclair and is update-able to Android 2.2 Froyo, but the v2.2 is not quite stable and is quite slow compared to the Eclair. The Android market has a lot of interesting and useful applications. It has proximity and accelerometer sensors. The Live Wallpapers is a special feature not to be forgotten.

Price: 27000 INR

Bottom-line: The first Android powered smart phone is worth every single penny from your earnings.....or your dad's.

5. HTC HD7 :

This Windows mobile from HTC has a huge 4.3 inch screen and weighs at 162 gms. The phone works on the 1GHz processor and 512 MB ROM and 576 MB RAM. The internal storage is 8GB for Europe and 16GB for Asia. The 5 mega-pixel camera captures high quality pictures with dual LED flash and records HD videos. The phone runs on Windows Phone OS 7. Additional to G sensor and Proximity sensor the HD7 also has digital compass and Ambient light sensor. The phone has a kick-stand for awesome movie experience with great audio quality boosted by SRS WOW HD. It has in-built flashlight app that turns the dual LED into flashlight with 3 brightness levels and even flashes SOS signal in case of emergency. The HTC Hub has a wide variety of applications which is not currently available in India. WTF!!!!!!!!

Price: 29000 INR

Bottom-line: It is more of a tablet than a phone, that is exactly why we (TechnoManiacz) did not compare Dell Streak with these smart-phones.

6. Blackberry Torch :

The 3.2 inch slider mobile with TFT capacitive touch screen and qwerty keyboard weighs 161 gms. The 5 mega-pixel camera has features like geo-tagging,image stabilization, continuous autofocus, LED flash. The video recording is one place where Blackberry let down the Torch 9800. It records video at 24 fps in 3gp format, yes no HD recording unlike the other smart phones. The optical trackpad adds beauty and ease of access to the several menus and applications. Sadly there is no secondary camera for video calling. The Torch has a 624 Mhz processor , 512 MB RAM and 512 MB ROM. The internal memory is 4GB and is expandable upto 32GB with a micro SD. The phone runs on the Blackberry OS 6.0 which is so far the best for multitasking. Plus the new feature of OS 6 is that the whole way of navigation has changed - there is a navigation bar for icons at the bottom which can be pulled up to display a row of 5 shortcuts and two rows of 10 shortcuts, all these can be accessed without a single hardware button pressed. The blackberry server allows maximum file hosting and stuff. The touch interface is not very perfectly crafted like the N8 or the Galaxy S which is not a major drawback but seems a lil sluggish. The phone can play many video formats including DivX and other DVD formats.

Price: 35000 INR

Bottom-line: Quite the feel of a smart-phone and you can surely go for it if you are looking for a multimedia phone that is a smart-phone.

Sneak-Peak into Galaxy S II :

Till now all we know about the Galaxy S2 is that it is to have a launch by the end of the 1st quarter or the starting of the 2nd of 2011. The Galaxy S2 looks over its preceedor in many areas :

1. S2 has a bigger 4.3 inch Super AMOLED screen

2. 8 mega-pixel camera with LED flash and secondary camera is 2 mega-pixels

3. S2 gets Dual Core 1GHz Cortex A9 processor, Orion chipset and 1GB RAM

4. weighs just 116 grams lighter than the Xperia Arc by a gram

5. thinner than its preceedor and measures only 8.49 mm

6. Comes with Android OS,v2.3 Gingerbread.

We got more info coming right up! So all you folk keep checking. Technology will never let us down [hopefully]. So thats all for now folks...

Android O.S.: What, How & Why

2011-02-17T11:52:00.006+05:30

Android is a mobile operating system owned by Google Inc., who acquired it from Android Inc., a small startup company based in Palo Alto, California, USA. As of Q4 2010 Android O.S. was the world's best-selling smartphone platform, dethroning Nokia's Symbian from the 10-year top position. As Symbian used to rule the roost, especially in India, it will be useful to look at it from that angle.

The main difference is that Android is a 'connected' OS. i.e for example: Once you enter your Gmail account details (If you don't have it, it asks you to create one), it starts syncing your e-mail, contacts and calendar from the cloud. Each new e-mail you get is subsequently pushed to your phone. While the Gtalk feature is always there for instant chat feature. The Facebook and Twitter official clients on Android are as smooth as they come, while the browser is in the same league as Apple Safari, which is a good enough compliment. While discussing components it is important to mention that the world orders have shifted and people walking to buy a smartphone are rarely interested in 'How many megapixel is the camera?'

Mhz (megahertz) is the new MP.

To make it simple: there are 3 main brands making processors for Android phones (Tegra not being considered).

Qualcomm

Samsung

Texas

Out of the above, by far the most-used platform is the qualcomm 600 Mhz processor (MSM 7227) used in a wide range of devices from the affordable Andro A60 to the premium and sexy HTC legend. It is a good processor and good enough to handle some multitasking. But still it will not allow you to play all new HD games coming out. Still, it is a very good choice.

Snapdragon 800 Mhz (MSM 7230): Used in phones like the newer qwertified Desire Z and some other HTC phones and also in the upcoming Sony Experia Arc and maybe the new playstation phone. This is a new power efficient chip that comes with upgraded Adreno chip 205, that enables it to trash the older snapdragon 1 Ghz (QSD 8250) in graphics performance, inspite of the lower clock speed.

Given below are the version history of Android O.S. developed by Google Inc. and the Open Handset Alliance. They are updates which aim at fixing bugs and adding new features.

Version history

1.0	Released 23 September 2008
1.1	On 9 February 2009, Android 1.1 update for Android was released for T-Mobile G1 Only. Included in the update were: Multiple resolved issues API changes Maps adds details and reviews Screen timeout longer when using speakerphone "Show" & "Hide" Dialpad included in-call menu Support for saving attachments from MMS Support for marquee in layouts
1.5 (Cupcake) Based on Linux Kernel 2.6.27	On 30 April 2009, the official 1.5 (Cupcake) update for Android was released. There were several new features and UI updates included in the 1.5 update: Ability to record and watch videos through camcorder mode Uploading videos to YouTube and pictures to Picasa directly from the phone A new soft-keyboard with text-prediction Bluetooth A2DP and AVRCP support Ability to automatically connect to a Bluetooth headset within a certain distance New widgets and folders that can populate the Home screens Animated screen transitions
1.6 (Donut) Based on Linux Kernel 2.6.29	On 15 September 2009, the 1.6 (Donut) SDK was released. Included in the update were: An improved Android Market experience An integrated camera, camcorder, and gallery interface Gallery now enables users to select multiple photos for deletion Updated Voice Search, with faster response and deeper integration with native applications, including the ability to dial contacts Updated search experience to allow searching bookmarks, history, contacts, and the web from the home screen Updated technology support for CDMA/EVDO, 802.1x, VPNs, and a text-to-speech engine Support for WVGA screen resolutions Speed improvements in searching and camera applications Gesture framework and GestureBuilder development tool Google free turn-by-turn navigation
2.0 / 2.1 (Eclair) Based on Linux Kernel 2.6.29	On 26 October 2009, the 2.0 (Eclair) SDK was released. Changes included: Optimized hardware speed Support for more screen sizes and resolutions Revamped UI New Browser UI and HTML5 support New contact lists Better contrast ratio for backgrounds Improved Google Maps 3.1.2 Microsoft Exchange Server by Exchange ActiveSync 2.5 support Built in flash support for Camera Digital Zoom MotionEvent class enhanced to track multi-touch events Improved virtual keyboard Bluetooth 2.1 Live Wallpapers The 2.0.1 SDK was released on 3 December 2009. The 2.1 SDK was released on 12 January 2010.
2.2 (Froyo) Based on Linux Kernel 2.6.32 (2.2.2 latest release)	On 20 May 2010, the 2.2 (Froyo) SDK was released. Changes included: General Android OS speed, memory, and performance optimizations Additional application speed improvements courtesy of JIT implementation Integration of Chrome's V8 JavaScript Engine into the Browser application Increased Microsoft Exchange support (security policies, auto-discovery, GAL look-up, calendar synchronization, remote wipe) Improved application launcher with shortcuts to Phone and Browser applications USB tethering and Wi-Fi hotspot functionality Added an option to disable data access over mobile network Updated Market application with batch and automatic update features Quick switching between multiple keyboard languages and their dictionaries Voice dialing and contact sharing over Bluetooth Support for numeric and alphanumeric passwords Support for file upload fields in the Browser application Support for installing applications to the expandable memory Adobe Flash 10.1 support Support for extra high DPI screens (320 dpi), such as 4" 720p
2.3 (Gingerbread) Based on Linux Kernel 2.6.35(2.3.3 latest version)	On 6 December 2010, the 2.3 (Gingerbread) SDK was released. Changes included: Updated user interface design Support for extra-large screen sizes and resolutions (WXGA and higher) Native support for SIP VoIP telephony Support for WebM/VP8 video playback, and AAC audio encoding New audio effects such as reverb, equalization, headphone virtualization, and bass boost Support for Near Field Communication System-wide Copy-paste functionalities Redesigned multi-touch software keyboard Enhanced support for native code development Audio, graphical, and input enhancements for game developers Concurrent garbage collection for increased performance Native support for more sensors (such as gyroscopes and barometers) A download manager for long-running downloads Improved power management and application control Native support for multiple cameras Switched from YAFFS to the ext4 filesystem
3.0 (Honeycomb)	On 26 January 2011, a preview of the 3.0 (Honeycomb) SDK was released. Changes include: Optimized tablet support with a new user interface Three dimensional desktop with redesigned widgets Refined multi-tasking Browser enhancements including tabbed web pages, form auto-fill, bookmark syncing with Google Chrome, and private browsing Support for video chat using Google Talk Hardware acceleration Support for multi-core processors
Ice Cream Sandwich	Possible mid-2011 release.

Now lets see a comparison of Android O.S. with other major brands in the market:

Smartphone Operating System	User Interface (On Scale of 10)	Application Availability (On Scale of 5)	Total (On Scale of 15)
iPhone OS	9	4.5	13.5
Android	9	4	13
Windows Phone 7	9	2	11
Symbian 3	7	2.5	9.5
BlackBerry OS 6	7	2.5	9.5
Windows Mobile 6.5	6	3	9
Symbian S60	6	2.5	8.5
BlackBerry OS 5	6	2.5	8.5

Clearly Android O.S. and IPHONE O.S. emerge as the winners. However there is a slight advantage of android over IPHONE which comes under the sections of 'Price' and 'variety'.

Here are some of the steps to be followed when your considering to purchase a Android mobile:

1. Check out the Android version of the phone you are buying. Most phones nowadays are coming with Eclair 2.1 out of the box or even 2.2 Froyo. But some phones like Moto Backflip are still stuck in history, and are best avoided.

2. Cameras: Unfortunately till now Android has failed to produce a phone, that has a camera that will output pictures that will make you go 'WOW, is that from a phone?'

The way you perhaps go for N8 or used to go for K790/K750 years ago. But still if this feature matters then Sony X10 has the best camera closely followed by Motorola XT720. Then we have the impressive duo of X10 Mini's and Galaxy S.

But then the standards have been raised so high in the previous years that any of the camphones will do for a casual shot.

3. Multimedia performance: Well if you consider video players then Samsung Galaxy S plays everything. From your SD avi's, to 720P MKV's (atleast some of them) . Most of the older HTC and Motorola phones do not come with codec support other then H264 and 3GPP, thus making it necessary to trans-code the video or to get a better media player like Rock Player.

But still those videos will lack hardware acceleration which does wonders for video clarity and battery life. Thus if media is a concern then get a Samsung or LG phone.

These are the preferred phones but you should also make the choice based on your preference for one particular feature or other.

Rs 8K-9K: Samsung Galaxy 5

Rs 11K-12K: LG Optimus One

Rs 16K-18K: Motorola Defy

Rs 20K-22K: HTC Desire

Rs 24K-25K: Samsung Galaxy S/ Nexus S/HTC Desire Z

Greater than Rs 25K: It really makes sense to wait for the new dual cores to rear their heads and pricing, as it will make for a better and informed choice.

Camera freaks: SE X10 or Moto XT 720

Media junkies: Samsung Galaxy S

Workaholics: HTC Desire Z/Motorola Milestone 2

Budget conscious: LG Optimus One (P500)

Install Windows 7 - The new way

2011-02-12T21:22:00.001+05:30

Hey ya'll... Dont get surprised!

Its the same old way but i observed something new. Common sense tells us that a USB reads/writes faster than a CD. So i thought why the hell are we still installing Windows the same old CD way?

So here's what i did...

I took out the Windows CD and explored the content.

Then i copied all the file into a folder in Desktop.

After that i took a USB stick i had and made a bootable Pen drive out of it!

Oh wait you wanna know how? Check out here to know how..

Once i did that all that i just booted the Windows from the USB stick. And you won't believe the speed with which windows loaded!!!

Usually it takes about half hour right? Thats why it makes Windows re-installation such a drab. But with this technique it takes only 5 minutes. Seriously!!

So try it and let me know whether this is true. I checked it out on a Dual Core computer. It loaded way faster than the usual High Range Rigs. Comment if you think otherwise.