Google Glass, the revolutionary wearable computer from Google is now the hottest item in the tech world. All the Geeks want to get their hands on one! Google’s still not announced when they’ll start selling these to the public yet. That’s good since this is new technology and no one know how things will pan out for Google Glass.

I know us techies skip reading the manual when it comes to Gadgets. It pays to read it, especially when it comes with required health warnings. It looks like kids below 13 shouldn’t be using this, and people who’ve had Lasik corrective surgery for their eyes as well. I guess even for people who wear prescription glasses, placing the Google Glass over these also could end up straining your eyes, while trying to focus on the display.

Here’s a snippet the FAQ section of Google Glass:

Glass isn’t for everyone.

Like when wearing glasses, some people may feel eye strain or get a headache. If you’ve had Lasik surgery, ask your doctor about risks of eye impact damage before using Glass. Don’t let children under 13 use Glass as it could harm developing vision. Also, kids might break Glass or hurt themselves, and Google’s terms of service don’t permit those under 13 to register a Google account. If Glass is not for you and you wish to return it, do so before the end of the applicable refund period.

As with all new tech, problems like this cannot be predicted in advance and could take time to iron themselves out. Let’s see how things pan out.

For the Nexus 4 fans here in India, LG and Google finally launched the Google Nexus 4 here. Even though the phone is not available at the Google Play store for India, the Nexus 4 is available at retail outlets and online retailers.

“LG Electronics is pleased to partner Google on the release of the Nexus 4 in India,” shared Mr. Soon Kwon, Managing Director, LG Electronics India. “We added the best of our talent to our strength, and the result is a feature- packed smartphone that packs superb hardware under a slim hood. With LG Nexus 4, consumers would be delighted by the perfectly balanced combination of style, function and power. The smartphone encourages consumers to explore a world of possibilities and also helps them balance between business and entertainment”

Quick Specs

• 4.7 LCD/True HD IPS+ Screen, WXGA (1280 x 768) pixel resolution (320ppi) with Gorilla Glass 2
• Qualcomm SnapdragonTM S4 Pro CPU 1.5 GHz Krait
• Powered by Android - Jellybean (4.2.2)
• 16 GB Storage ( Not expandable)
•  8 MP Rear Camera with LED Flash and 1.3 MP Front Facing Camera
• Battery - 2,100mAh/Lipolymer ( Non Removable) with 11.9 hours talk time rating
• Wireless Charging (works with Nokia Charging Plate as well )

 Pricing and Availability

The Nexus 4 is available in India at an MRP of Rs. 25,999 for the 16 GB phone. It's not too bad considering the US Google Play store is selling that at $349 ( approximately Rs. 19,000) add import duties and taxes and 25,999 is not a bad price point, considering the features you're getting with it.

You should be able to pick it up from any LG brand shops, multi-brand retailers or online stores in the coming weeks. If you just can't wait you can also preorder the phone online from retailers like Flipkart as well and have it delivered as soon as it's available.

At the Google I/O Keynote today, Google announced a bunch of new stuff. Most of it was for developers (I/O is a developers conference after all), but among the few consumer releases announced was Hangouts. Hangouts is the replacement Chat/Video Service for Google Talk, which hasn’t really been improved in ages. It also unifies Google+ Messenger and the Hangout video chat feature that is a part of Google+.

Having used it for a short period on both Android and on the Chrome Browser, it is quite nice and easy to navigate through, and works much more reliably than the messenger component of Google+.

It’s available now for iOS, Android and for Chrome. Just click the links below to download the app.

Here’s the link to the Android App

Hangouts (replaces Talk)Google Inc.CommunicationFreeDownload

And here’s the iOS App

HangoutsGoogle, Inc.Social NetworkingFreeDownload

You can get the Chrome app here.

You can read more about the new Hangouts at the Gmail Blog. Here’s the post blog post:

 

The much awaited Google I/O event is about to get underway, and people have a lot of expectations going into the event. To catch the event live you can head over to developers.google.com/events/io/ or head over to the end of this post to watch the LiveStream Video.

There’s a lot of announcements which have been predicted for the event. Here are some of the predictions of what to expect:

• No New Hardware releases, updates to existing devices.
• No Major Android Version Release, may be an incremental update of Jellybean for now, followed by Keylime Pie later.
• Google’s Going to Launch a new Music Streaming Service.
• Playstore updates with App data sync.
• Google Maps Updates
• Google Gaming Service like Apple’s Game Center.
• Google’s Messaging Platform, Babel
• and more …

Let’s see how many of these come true, and if Google has any more surprises up their sleeves. Sit back and watch the event unfold in the next few hours and days.

In a press event yesterday in London, Nokia announced the latest entrant into the Lumia family, the Lumia 925. Apart from being slimmer than the Lumia 920, this device also features sobered down colors unlike the others in the Lumia Family – white, grey or black. Also notable is that Wireless Charging on the phone has been removed but you can snap on a Wireless Charging Case to bring back that functionality.

Quick Specs of the Lumia 925

• Processor: 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon
• Dimensions : 129 x 70.6 x 8.5  mm weighing 139g
• Display: 4.5-inch AMOLED WXGA (1280×768) with Gorilla Glass 2
• Memory: 1GB RAM, 16 GB user memory – not expandable
• Camera: Rear Camera – PureView 8.7-megapixel with OIS, Autofocus, dual LED flash. Front Camera: HD 1.2MP wide angle
• Connectivity: USB 2.0, BT 3.0, NFC, WiFi, Positioning via A-GPS and Glonass, 3.5mm audio connector
• Battery: 2000 mAh
• Wireless Charging: Only via a charging case.
• Networks: GSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900, WCDMA, 2100, 1900, 850, 900, LTE 2100, 1800, 2600, 900, 800
• Audio: -IHF speaker, 2 microphones, HD voice compliant, 3.5mm AV connector
• Expected Price :  469  Euros before taxes and subsidies (approx Rs. 34,000 in India )

What’s different from the Lumia 920?

• Build – The 925 features an Alumium body with a Polycarbonte  back, while the 920 is a fully polycarbonate.
• Screen – The 925 comes with a AMOLED screen vs the IPS one on the 920. Also the 925 features Gorilla Glass 2 vs the original Gorilla glass for the predecessor.
• Better battery – According to the specs the 925 has a maximum talk time of 12.8 hours on 3G compared to the 10.8 on the Lumia 920
• Camera – The 925 has upgraded optics ( a 6 lens optic ) for better low light snaps, and Nokia Smart Camera. The 920 will receive the Smart Camera app in a future OS upgrade.
• ISO ( Camera’s Light Sensitivity): The Lumia 925 has a max rating of ISO 1600 compared to the 920′s ISO 800
• Wireless Charging – The Lumia 925 requires a Wireless Charging case if you want to charge wirelessly, where as the 920 comes with that built into the device itself.

Camera – Nokia’s Claim to Fame

As with most of Nokia’s flagship devices, the Lumia 925′s claim to fame is also the PureView camera which is bundled along with the phone. This device comes with 6 piece lens optics from Carl Zeiss, with Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) and  a light sensitivity rating of ISO 1600, which is double that of the Lumia 920. This combination makes for better night and low light snaps on this new flagship.

Nokia’s latest camera software lens dubbed the Nokia Smart Camera adds more features to the camara software on Windows Phone 8, allowing a more creativity in the images shot using the device. The main features –   Best Shot, Action Shot, and Motion Focus allow you to choose the best photo in a group shot and remove moving people or objects from a snap, create action shot with multiple images superimposed on each other to show the subject multiple times in the same snap, and adding motion blur while focusing on the subject accordingly. Here are a few sample snaps using the Lumia 925 and Nokia Smart Camera. (Images courtesy Nokia)

Oggl with Instagram Sharing Announced

Nokia, during their launch, announced Hipstamatic’s new app, Oggl, which allows users to take pictures apply filters and share it with other users on the Oggl network or to Facebook, Twitter and wait for it …. Instagram. Even though an official Instagram app is still not forthcoming, users can now share to Instagram officially using Oggl, since this not via a hacked API unlike another app on the Windows Phone Store.

Windows Phone Amber coming in the next month or so

Nokia also announced that an update dubbed “Windows Phone Amber” will hit existing users of Windows Phone 8 devices which will bring the  Nokia Smart Camera along with a few more goodies to our existing phones as well. Here’s a list of features we’re aware of which should be coming in:

• Nokia Smart Camera App.
• The ability to choose which app to start-up when the camera button is pressed.
• FM radio is one of the features which will get turned on once the upgrade happens. Unfortunately the Lumia 620 it won’t get this feature it seems.
• Tap to wake, featured on the 925, will also be available for the users of the Lumia 920 & 820 phones.
• International Podcast Support
• CalDav and CardDav support for Windows Phone 8 which allows better sync with services like Google

 In Short

Nokia’s Launch of the Lumia 925 is an attempt to augment the Lumia family. The Metal body design and sobered down colors will attract some more folks ( probably the corporate types) who were wary of the bright polycarbonate bodies of the older devices.  The phone being slimmer and lighter also helps, since quite a few people I know were complaining about the size and weight of the Lumia 920. Unfortunately, to make it so, Nokia removed the native ability to charge the phone wirelessly, and requires a special charging case of you wish to do so.

I’m still not sure of how much better this device’s camera fares compared to the older 920, but the specs do show that it is more capable in low light situations.

For users of the Lumia 920, the minor upgrade in the specs really don’t shout out to me to go upgrade immediately, since the  Windows Phone Amber upgrade will bring the software goodies into our devices as well. But I think for first time buyers the 925 will be a better buy than the 920 is.

Last week, in an event in Delhi, Nokia had launched the Nokia Asha 501, a Full-touch, Dual Sim phone based on their new Asha Platform. The Nokia Asha 501′s UI is a welcome improvement over their older ones with a swipe driven interface to navigate the phone features and switch out of apps.

Stephen Elop launched the device at the event, with Peter Skillman taking us through the features of the Asha 501, and quick demos of the features as well. Sangeeta Bavi the followed up with the giving a quick round-up of what developers can expect from the Asha Platform and additional monetization avenues available to them.

Quick Specs

• Display: 3 inch LCD Touch Screen with QVGA resolution (320 x 240)
• Memory : 128 MB, 64 MB RAM
• Storage: 4GB included, upgradable to 32 GB via MicroSD cards
• Camera: 3.2 MP fixed focus camera, no Flash.
• Connectivity: 2G, WiFi, microUSB
• Sensors: Accelerometer, Proximity sensor
• Battery: 1200 mAh battery, with standby time of upto 48 days and 17 hours talk time.
• OS: Nokia Asha Platform 1.0
• Colors Available: Yellow, Red, Green, Cyan, White and Black

Rather than going over the standard phone overviews, which I’m sure you’ve already read up on countless other sites already, here are a few insights about the Asha 501 based on our experience at the Launch event and a Q&A session with Stephen Elop after the launch. If you are looking for a demo of the Asha 501, jump over to the end of this post for the video.

Where’s the  Asha 501 placed?

According to Stephen Elop, the Asha 501 is not meant for the main-stream smartphone users, but for the  80% of the world’s market, especially the emerging markets. What makes this phone ideal for them?

The price for one, since the Asha is announced at $99, which is around Rs. 5,500. It’s a full touch-screen phone, which is a good phone to transition to from a basic phone. So people using basic phones and who are looking to upgrade to the next level, the Asha fills the void between the basic phone and the Smartphone range.

Why not a Cheap Droid?

Well, we all know that there are phones from “other” platforms too in the Rs. 4000 and up ranges. Why not those you ask? Have you really tried those phones? Since an OS which was built for better hardware is  being squeezed into cheaper components, the user experience on these devices really lack polish and smoothness.

Apart from that Nokia’s Build quality is well known, which is miles apart form those other “cheap” smartphones. To mark his point, while he was talking, Elop just took a phone he was holding and threw it on the floor! The phone came out of this unscathed and working.

Why not Windows Phone then?

According to Elop, they “didn’t try cramming a high-end OS into a low-end phone“, and compromising on the user experience. If they did, with the processing power this phone has, the “live” tiles wouldn’t be live any more, and the entire UI wouldn’t be as smooth as it needed to be. The Asha Platform on the other hand is optimized for this low-end smart phone.

Nokia’s aquisition of SmarterPhone, and integration of their technology into the Asha platform allowed then to bring the fully swipe driven interface which gives a smart phone like experience on a lower-end device like the Asha 501.

Amazing Battery life

Most touch phone these days don’t last more than a day or two on a single charge.  Nokia did have a tall order to fill in order to achieve and amazing 48 days and talk times of upto 17 hours on the Asha 501. To achieve this the phone’s new Operating System did play an important role. They’ve limited the multi-tasking ability on the device.  Background tasks is one of the main battery killers on smart phones. Some system apps like the Music Player do run the background, but most others don’t. Of course it seems as if the phone multitasks since the applications restore their state when they are re-launched, but most don’t run the background.

The OS itself can’t contribute to such a long battery life, so Nokia did take some decisions to skimp on some functionality. Forgoing a 3G connectivity and some sensors. But this was required to boost battery life. 2G lends to a longer time between charges for the device. When we asked Elop regarding this, he did mention that a 3G version is also expected soon.There’s always WiFi if you want faster connectivity when you’re at home or office.

Nokia Xpress Browser and FastLane

This phone comes with Nokia Xpress Browser, which works by compressing the data being sent to the phone while you surf, allowing for faster surfing even on 2G connections. The browser also features the Nokia Xpress Now, which is a magazine like content discovery engine which shows up trending news in your location and doubles as your browser’s Home page.

The Asha Platform now has a new feature called the FastLane which shows up to 50 Recently accessed contacts, social networks and apps in the order of the last access time. This feature provides a record of how the phone is used, giving you a glimpse of your past, present and future activity. This also works as a shortcut for your frequently accessed apps and contacts, since they show up in your Fastlane.

Launch Dates?

According to Nokia, the Asha 501 should start hitting the shelves in India some time in June priced at around Rs. 5,500.

Nokia Asha 501 Demo

TimesCity.com has just launched their  new lifestyle app which allows users to look up Restaurants, Nightlife, Event and movies from their mobiles. The app has an easy to use interface to look up information in your city or switch to another city as well. Timescity app is currently available for users in Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bangalore, Goa, Jaipur, Kolkata, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, Chandigarh and Ahmedabad.

Speaking about the launch of Timescity App, Siddhaarth Jalan ,Business head,Timescity.com & Times Food and Nightlife Guide, “said, “  We are happy to launch the Timescity app on Android,iOS & Blackberry 10 to let the users discover the best of going out in their city in an intuitive, easy-to-use format.  We will be launching the app on all other platforms shortly”.

We had a sneek peek of the app yesterday and here are some details on what you can see in the app. We also have screenshots from the app at the end of the this post.

Restaurant & Night Life

The location-based app brings up interesting places to eat or spend an evening with friends, allowing users to sort the listing based on distance from their current location, cost and ratings of the establishments. The app also features Critic reviews of establishments by renowned critics like Rashmi Uday Singh, Marryam Reshii, Karen Anand, Suresh Hinduja. These are available in the restaurant reviews section of the app.

Apart from reviews, you can directly call the place to book your tables from the app by just tapping on the green call button or share details about a restaurant you plan to visit on Facebook, Twitter, Email or SMS. Great to arrange a meet with your friends. You can also leave a rating directly from the app.

Movies and Events

The Movies section shows you the latest movies playing in your city, along with the Showtimes at the various locations which are playing the movie. You can also look up reviews of the movies  and watch the movie trailers from the Times City app. It’s a good way to find a movie to watch or make up your mind if you haven’t made up your mind on which one to watch.

The Events listings shows you various plays, music shows, workshops and other events in the City. You can add the event to your calendar, look up their locations on the map and  call the event organizers for passes or information about the event.

The app is available for download on the Google Play store,iTunes store (iOS) & Blackberry World.

Download Times City from Google Play

TimescityTimes Internet LimitedTravel & LocalFreeDownload

Download Times City from iTunes

TimescityTimes InternetFood & DrinkFreeDownload

Screenshots from the TimesCity App

Nokia India has been sending out invites to the press and blogging folks for an International event in Delhi on the 9th of May.  The invite itself doesn’t state much about what’s in store, but just says that it’s “Time to Shift  Gears”. This is just a week before Nokia’s launch event in London which is to take place on the 14th of this month.

For the May 14th event in London, I’m pretty sure we’re going to see the next line of Nokia’s Lumia device be it phones or phablets. There’s still no official news on what’s in store for the 9th. The event on the 9th could point to a new range of Asha phones, since they’re Nokia’s smartphone for the masses here. Or could this be the launch of new “Gear” as in accessories?

We’ll know soon in a day. Stay tuned, since we’ll be live in Delhi covering the event. You can follow us on Twitter @myportableworld for live updates on the 9th.

We got a hold of the Nokia Charging Plate a week back and have been using it pretty much most of the times at home with my phones. It’s transformed my daily charging ritual.

Ease of use

It’s just so easy to charge my phone these days – no more hunting for the cable and plugging the device – I just place the phone on the charger and it does its magic. It’s really convenient, since I don’t have to hurriedly disconnect a cable to answer a call or take the phone while going for a quick walk out. The light at the base of unit turns on to show you if the phone is actually being charged.

Having a case on the Lumia 920 also didn’t seem to affect the charging capability of the unit. While testing the charging accessory, the charge time for the phone was almost the same as if the phone was charging via a cable.

I’m now tempted to go out and pick up at least 2 more so I can have one handy at office and at my bed-stand as well. But there’s a catch, more about that in a bit.

Standards based charging

In the Lumia range, you can charge the 920, 720 and the 820 (with an additional charging shell) with the plate. Since this product follows the QI wireless charging standard, you can charge any phone which follows that standard. So I’ve used this accessory not just with my Lumia 920, but my Nexus 4 charges off this without any problem.

As with all wireless chargers these days, the phone has to be placed on the plate in order to change it, and the DT-900 charges only one device at a time. I’ve tried hard trying to place both my phone to get them to charge together, but I wasn’t successful with my experiments.

Colors

The DT-900 comes in 5 different colors so you can match your charger’s color to your phone or match the color scheme of your table.

Price

Didn’t I tell you about the catch? Well the DT-900 is currently marked for sale at a premium cost of Rs. 3,999 here in India. That does put a dent in my plan to get a few more. Well since this is a premium feature, I guess the premium cost is kind of justified. Oh well, a few more months of saving to get one more is worth it considering both my phones are able to charge off the Nokia Wireless Charging Plate.

Final Words

The DT-900 does cost a bit, but I’d happily pay for one just for the convenience and ease it offers, even my pre-school kids know how to charge the phone. I just ask them to charge up my phone and they go directly and place the phone on the Wireless Charging plate. This compared to an earlier attempt by my elder daughter to charge an older phone and ended up jamming the USB cable into the phone the wrong way.

Product Images

In the good news department, Microsoft is finally working on a newer and better Facebook for Windows Phone. The current version of Facebook on the Windows Phone store is quite antiquated and doesn’t work very well at all. Windows Phone users have been complaining about the app’s bad usability, which is evident in the app reviews on the Windows Phone Store.

Here’s what the Windows Phone Blog has to say about the beta app, “Today we’re launching a new program designed to help speed up delivery of new features in the official Facebook app for Windows Phone and need sharp-eyed, energetic volunteers to download a beta version of our next release and tell us how to make it better.”

The beta app is a major update from the older one, with the “Metro” style UI being discarded for the standard Facebook Timeline UI which is the staple on the major platforms. It also seems more responsive and faster as well. Photos go hi-res, both on the timeline and when you upload. At the same time, I find a few features still missing or not working as expected.

The good part of the beta app is that you can report these anomalies to Microsoft, so they can add or fix features as they progress along with the beta program. To do this, head over to Settings>About and then click on the “send feedback” button to send that in.

Since this is a beta version, there could be issues with the app, so I’d suggest that you install this beta version along the official Facebook app on your phone, and don’t replace it yet. This way you can access Facebook on the official app in case the beta app goes kaput.

Download

Facebook BetaMicrosoft CorporationsocialFreeDownload

Image Gallery

Here’s an app to make your calls with friends and family fun! Twiize is an app which enhances the standard call screen for Android. While you are on a call with your friend, you can check their Facebook status, photos and even send notes and doodles to them. Of course, you’ll have to be on a wired or bluetooth headset if you want to play around with Twiize while you’re on a call.

Twiize prompts you  to login to Facebook when it first launches, pulling your friend details and updates from there. You can invite your friends to install the Twiize app on their phone as well for optimal experience. You don’t have to be compelled to invite a friend, since  the app works pretty well if your friend’s not on Twiize. You can still see their FB updates on the call screen, and the notes and doodles you create can be posted on your wall or your friends.

Here’s the key features of Twiize:

• Send photos from live camera or gallery, while talking on the phone
• Browse recent full screen photos and statuses of your friend, yourself and mutual friends (not just the usual full screen caller id photo)
• Get a birthday reminder in real-time and send a happy birthday card
• Draw & send each other personalized notes, scribbles and funny doodles

Here’s a video of Twiize in action. You can jump to the end of the post for the download link.

Download Twiize for Android

Twiize: HD Caller id & CameraTwiizeSocialFreeDownload

Are you Ready to ROCK??

Overkill

Trigger

Bomber

Ironfist

Motorizer

I don’t think WhatsApp requires any introduction since most of us are already on it and sending messages to friends and family using this app. Over the past few days, the news vine has been flooded with rumors that Google is looking at acquiring WhatsApp. Let’s first see why Google thinks this messaging platform is good for their product line.

What’s in it for Google?

Let’s start with what WhatsApp has to offer. They have a very popular platform with users from across the globe on a variety of platforms. They also have a hugely scalable application and infrastructure in place. In fact, did you know that during the New Year eve, they processed more than 18 billion message in a day! That goes to show how successful their existing platform is.  One reason for their popularity is the variety of smartphones and feature phones the app supports.

On Dec 31st we had a new record day: 7B msgs inbound, 11B msgs outbound = 18 billion total messages processed in one day! Happy 2013!!!

— WhatsApp Inc. (@WhatsApp) January 2, 2013

They are currently monetizing their platform, which means they are making money, whether it’s enough or not, they’re still able to rope in some cash. They charge a nominal annual subscription of 0.99 per year, and the industry estimates that they have around 200-300 million active users. The actual revenues may be less, given that they do give a year’s worth of free access to first time users. Nevertheless, if Instagram, a company with no revenue stream can be bought for around $1Billion, WhatsApp with their ability to monetize should command more. The question is whether Google actually needs this revenue?

Google’s competitior, iOS from Apple already features a iMessage, which allows users to send unlimited text messages over WiFi, but this is limited to only iOS users and Google really needs something like WhatsApp preloaded  and integrated with Google’s platform on the Android to catch up with iOS. (Thanks to Cherian for pointing this out in the comment below)

Boosting Google’s sagging Social Network Portfolio

Google is looking at boosting their Social Network portfolio to compete with the likes of Facebook. Their Google Plus network and Hangouts are being used, but not at the scale Facebook operates at. Google still has a long way to go to get adoption on their platform. Even today I still don’t see many of my non-tech friends active on Google Plus, which means that I still have to keep in touch with them on Facebook.

To top it off, Google still doesn’t have a messaging system for the mobile. Of course, there’s Google Talk and Hangouts, but they are not really easy to use on the mobile, especially when one has to setup a predefined group and communicate with that group. There’s also the problem of cross-platform compatibility, chatting or hanging-out with friends who are on Blackberry, iOS, Android, Symbian and Windows Phone just doesn’t work seamlessly.

Even their biggest rival, Facebook was missing this aspect of social interaction on mobile, and they’ve been quickly and fervently working on bridging this gap. They’re now trying to promote downloads of their Facebook Messenger app which tried to integrate text messages along with Facebook Messaging.

So Google needs WhatsApp now!

Trouble Brewing?

Of course a lot can go right with WhatsApp if Google does agree to buy them out, but it’s what *can* go wrong which people should think about. Here’s some probable scenarios:

• Cutting out Platforms – Google could always decide that some platforms are not worth developing on and discontinue support for Symbian variant, Blackberry and who knows Windows Phone? Given the recent history with Google and Windows Phone, Google’s really not bothered about following their  ‘Don’t be evil‘ motto. I just don’t trust Google as much these days.
• Deciding to Merge WhatsApp into a totally new App – People are used to their WhatApp! Google may just decide that their Messaging platform, Babel,  is better (even if it isn’t) and merge WhatsApp users over their new shiny app.
• Leave WhatApp to rot in it’s current state with no more updates – This is a possibility if Google realizes that they don’t want to invest time and money in further development of this platform after they buy it. A classic example of this kind of move from Google is Feedburner, the feed distribution service. Google bought Feedburner, made a few minor updates over the years and now it’s rotting with no updates and users are awaiting Google’s decision to axe the service.
• Close down WhatsApp – There have been a lot of news buzz of the recent decision from Google on discontinuing the Google Reader service. There are chances that WhatsApp can go down this route as well, leaving all users of the app stranded, and hopping to other similar apps.

I just don’t want to loose my favorite Messaging Platform if and when they’re bought by Google. What are your thoughts on this? Do let us know by commenting below.

Last Friday, Nokia India had invited a few bloggers to preview the Lumia 520, which is just hitting the shelves here in India. Apart from a presentation about the device, we did get to use the device for a short while after, which gave us a good feel of the Lumia 520. Let’s check out the tech specs of this phone before we go ahead.

Lumia 520 Tech Specs

• Display: 4 inch IPS (800*480) display with Super Sensitive touch allowing you to control the phone using your nails as well.
• Processor: 1 Ghz Snapdragon Processor, and a Adreno 305 GPU to lift the heavy graphics computations.
• Memory: 512MB RAM for applications on the phone to use.
• Storage: 8GB Internal Storage expandable via Micro-SD card for an additional 64 GB external storage.
• Camera: 5MP Autofocus primary camera without flash. Lacks a front facing camera.
• Connectivity: 3G Cellular data, WiFi, USB2.0, Bluetooth 3.0, Micro USB connector and 3.5 mm audio connector.
• Battery: 1430 mAH battery
• Price in Indian Market:  Best Buy price of Rs. 10,500, but available for less via online retailers

First Impressions

To be fair, it’s not possible to do an entire review of the phone given the amount of time I got to spend with the device. But a quick post on what my first impressions of the phone is the perfect way to write this up.

The phone itself is a Monoblock touch phone, which comes in 5 colors. It seems out of the 5 available colors, only 3 are available during the initial launch of the device here in India – Yellow, Red and Cyan. One thing which intrigued me about the phone was the way the back cover has to be removed. The entire colored back cover of the phone has to be peeled off the back to revel the battery and SIM and micro-USB slots. It’s a little tricky for a first time user.

The phone also felt quite good while holding it. It didn’t exude any ‘cheapness’ at all. The Nokia build quality does come through well on this phone. The phone features the standard volume control, power button and camera buttons on the right side of the device, the 3.5 mm audio connector on top and the micro-USB at the bottom. Pretty standard placements like the other Lumia devices.

The 1Ghz processor on the phone gives the phone a snappy feel to it. Even though this is the cheapest Windows Phone 8 devices in the market, the phone didn’t show any lags during normal operations, and while opening the apps which were on the phone. Quite impressive.  The only disadvantage I see is that the phone has only 512 MB memory onboard, which puts a few apps and games out of reach for users of phone. Thanks to an alert Twitter follower, I also discovered that Nokia’s City Lens also is missing on the phone.

The camera on the Lumia 520, being 5 MP, didn’t perform as well as the 920, but for the price point, did considerably well. Of course, you can play around with the Smart shoot, Cinemagraph and other lenses available for the Lumia Phone range to augment the phone’s camera functionality.   I don’t have any of the pictures which I took, since the phones went back with the Nokia folks after the event.

In all, the Nokia Lumia 520 offers a good package for a Rs. 10K price range. This phone will certainly become a volume seller for Nokia given the cost and features offered.

Launch Offers

Data Offers

Nokia has a few offers for buyers of the  Lumia 520. They have a tie up with Reliance which offers users  1 GB data of 3G connectivity per month from Reliance for two months. These two months of usage includes unlimited usage of Facebook and WhatsApp.

Movie Offers from Bigflix

They also have a tie up with BigFlix, so new Lumia 520 users will get a voucher which entitles them to unlimited streaming of Bigflix titles for 3 months.

Nokia Music Unlimited

Of course, the device also comes with three months of Nokia Music subscription allowing you to download unlimited tracks during that period from Nokia Music, which is yours to keep even after the subscription expires.

Image Gallery

Today marks the 40th Year anniversary of the mobile phone. The first mobile phone call was made Dr. Martin Cooper, a Motorola employee, on 3rd April, 1973 using a Motorola DynaTAC phone. This phone was huge compared to cellphones these days.

The phone itself clocked at around 1o inches, and this is not including the length of the antenna. You really needed a suitcase to carry this baby. The phone also gave a whopping 30 minutes of talk-time, 8 hours of standby time and needed a full 10 hours to charge. It also had a screen just big enough to show you the numbers you were dialling.

The Motorola DynaTAC 8000X received it’s FCC approval and was the first commercial cell phone and was sold in the markets around the early 80′s. It used to retail at an unimaginable price of $3,995!

Things have really changed in 40 years. These days more affordable devices,  longer battery life ( and we still complain about our batteries!), bigger screens, internet on the move, social networks,cameras and so much more on our phones. For people in the 80′s this would have looked like science fiction or even black magic!

After 40 years of Mobile Telephony, things have changed! These days a lot of us use mobile phones less for calling and also apps like Whatsapp among others are also effectively reducing the SMS based revenue of these companies. Telecom companies are therefore looking at other streams to boost their earnings, like faster data connectivity and value added services. The industry is poised for a change and we hope to see even more revolutionary changes to mobile phones in the coming years.

We leave you with a video from the 80′s produced by Motorola, promoting their Motorola DynaTAC phone.

Photo Credit: Mikek via Flickr
Sources: Wikipedia, Retrobrick, Motorola

Depending on where you are and who your mobile service provider is, text messaging is either so cheap that you don’t worry about it or so expensive that you barely use it. Texting is still one of the most popular methods of communication though , which means someone somewhere is always on it. Of course, sending texts across continents and countries is still expensive.

There are ways around that though, if you’re willing to use your data connection of course. The benefits? Lower cost (especially if it’s an international message) and added features like pictures, videos and more. Of course, that requires an Internet service, and a mobile device that has the app available on it. Oh, and you need to have other people that use that app.

So here’s a list of quite a few of the so called OTT (over the top) text messaging replacement services, with the pros and cons of each.It isn’t a review of the app or service though, and it isn’t a complete list by any stretch. Let us know what we missed and we’ll get around to adding them to this list.

Whatsapp

Whatsapp is one of the oldest ones out there, and as such it’s got a wide base that it works on.

Pros – multi platform (available on everything except Bada. Oh, and Symbian UIQ). Yes, it supports S40 too (and they aren’t smartphones). Media transfer (photos, videos, contact info, Location Data). Group Messaging (upto 20 users per group). Simple setup and use (linked to your phone number, no other login needed).

Cons – Photos are down scaled. Videos have to be under 12MB. There is no confirmation of Message Read status (One green tick-mark is for sent, two is for delivered). Group messaging needs more features/controls (Quiet time for the really talkative groups, Better management of users in that group).

Kik

Kik was the app whose service supposedly pulled blocked by RIM and then got back onto the Blackberry Platform. It’s simple to use, it’s fast, it’s almost like BBM. And now it’s available on most major smartphone platforms.

Pros – Fast. Really Fast. Login with user created account, so the same account can be used simultaneously on multiple devices. Sent, Delivered and Read status (for those who want to track that). Available on iOS, Android, Symbian, Blackberry and Windows Phone. Has plugins (like sketchee) for more functionality.

Cons – User Created account (now that’s another thing you have to remember). Group Messaging controls. The Symbian app is quite limited at the moment, and there is no S40 app.

Ebuddy XMS

Ebuddy has been around for a while as a web and mobile based IM client. XMS is their take on the OTT messaging service.

Pros – Multi Platform (Windows Phone, Symbian, iOS, Android, Blackberry & J2ME). Group Messaging. Media Sharing. Facebook Login to setup the account and pull in contacts. Web version available.

Cons – Broadcast option is missing.

PingMe

 PingMe is another messaging service that seems to focus more on interaction (Media Content) and on meeting new people.

Pros – Neat interface that brings Media content up front and centre. Group Messaging. Registration with just your phone number.

Cons – iOS and Android only (they dropped Blackberry and Windows Phone support a little while ago).

Hookt

Hookt has been around for a couple of years now, has a few common features present in the other platforms (Group Chat, Stickers, Emojis), but it has two “features” that kind of set it apart. A) It syncs across platforms (send a message on one device, platform, it’ll be there on all the others that have your account). B) Desktop and Mobile Web Support (handy for platforms that aren’t supported)

Pros – Unique ID. Syncs across Platforms (Supports iOS, Android and Blackberry (Not BB10), desktop and mobile web.

Cons – No Windows Phone Support.

ChatON

ChatON is Samsung’s own cross platform messaging service, that has a lot of the features that other services have, including cross platform sync. It also has the ability to create an animated message or picture. It seems to have a little bit more detailed profile management, kind of like a Social Network (no it isn’t one)

Pros – Unique ID. Syncs across Platforms (Supports iOS, Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone, Certain Samsung Non-Smartphones, and desktop. Animated Messages.

Cons – No ability to actually manage notification tones (I could not find a way to turn off the tone!). Clunky interface (there are a lot of features, you just have to find them).

Wechat

WeChat is one of the newer entrants. It’s developed by Tencent. The service has grown massively of late, mostly in China and South East Asia.. It has apps on most platforms (No BB10 yet) and a couple of things that it has over the others are Video Chat and what it calls “Drift Bottle” – you literally throw your message out there and wait for someone to pick it up. It’s also one of the fastest growing services, in Asia at least.

Pros – Sign in using phone number of Facebook Connect. Find Friends from FB. Symbian, Android, Blackberry (no BB10 yet), iOS, Windows Phone and Web clients.

Cons – No timestamps, delivery notifications & read reports.

Line

Line is a service by Japanese company Naver and it’s got everything but the kitchen sink! It’s available for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry (No BB10 yet), for the Mac, Windows and Windows 8. Apart from the usual messaging, it has other services available (some as in-app purchases), like audio calling, video and audio messages, social gaming, stickers and more. In Japan, it has more active users than facebook!

Pros – Sign in using phone number or email. Android, Blackberry (no BB10 yet), iOS, Windows Phone, Mac, Windows/Windows 8 clients, Sync’chats across clients. Free calling, Audio and Video messages, Stickers, games

Cons – Only one smartphone can be used for a registered user (you can use it on one device and on a Mac/Windows computer).

Kakaotalk

Kakotalk is like a Korean version of Line, and it’s been around for a long time now. Just like Line, in Korea, it has more active users than Facebook. It has clients for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry (No BB10 Yet) and Bada. It also has other add on services like Kakaopoll, Kakaolink, etc, adding even more modes of interaction. It does not have a desktop client however.

Pros – Sign in using email. Android, Blackberry (no BB10 yet), iOS, Windows Phone, Bada clients. Free calling, Audio and Video messages, Stickers. Pin lock for chats.

Cons – No Desktop Client. Only one mobile number per account.

TU Me

TU Me is an example of a service created by an operator (Telefonica) to catch up with the rest of the OTT service (which operators supposedly hate because of the loss of revenue from text messaging). And on first glance, they’ve done a good job of it. It looks good, has quite a few features and most importantly, you do not have to be a Telefonica customer to use it. It’s iOS and Android only for now, but hopefully it’ll soon get on other platforms. They let you store your chats for a year, after which you have to pay to keep your chat history.

Pros – Sign in using phone number. Audio Calls, Voice and Video messages.

Cons – Android and iOS only. Pay for storage and usage after a limtied period.

Viber

Viber isn’t specifically a messaging service; it started off as a VOIP service which you use to call other Viber users over WiFi or your devices’ data network (kinda like skype). It has had messaging for a while now though, and it doesn’t have much (Group chat for instance), but it does work well with what it’s got. It has clients for iOS, Android, Bada, Windows Phone, Blackberry (no BB10), Symbian and even s40 (like whatsapp).

Pros – Sign in with phone number. Free calling to viber users, messaging & stickers.  iOS, Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone, Bada, Symbian and s40 clients.

Cons – No Group Messaging

Moped

Moped is a startup from Berlin thats aims to rethink instant messaging from the ground up. Moped lets you send IM’s over phone as well as your computer. Available on both Android and iOS platforms, Moped allows you to share messages and pictures privately or in a group in a very twitter-y fashion. You’ll need a twitter account to sign up and and can incorporate #tags, and @’s in your messages. Users can receive messages on their mobile devices, desktops or by e-mail. Moped also comes built in with a very instagram type  functionality –  a series of photo filters for for enhancing photo sharing. With dropbox integration and a chrome extension, Moped is trying very hard to cover all bases between mobile and the desktop.

Pros – Access IM’s over mobile, desktop & email, hashtag and @(mention) integration, Chrome extension to share content with Moped contacts.

Cons – only twitter login, no WP client

Jongla

Jongla is different from the others for one main reason: the target audience. It’s targeted at kids. Well, 15-20 year olds. It’s got most of the “fun” features from the other apps; stickers, etc.

Pros – Stickers, Web Login.

Cons – iOS, Android and Web only. Beyond stickers, there’s no other “fun” content sharing options.

Hike

Hike is another example of a service created by an Operator (India’s Bharti Telecom and Japan’s Softbank telecom provider) to try and catch up with the rest of the crowd. A standard IM client with one extra feature, 100 Free SMS/user/month for those times when you have flaky internet connectivity.

Pros – All platform IM client(BB coming soon), 100 free SMS/month and other rewards and incentives for stuff like connecting with you Facebook and twitter accounts

Cons – very low user base

Relay

Relay is all about the GIFs. It lets you share animated content from your own gallery, or you can search the web and send animated content to your buddies. Unfortunately, it’s an iOS only app.

Pros – GIFs! Animated!

Cons – iOS only.

GroupMe

GroupMe has been around for a while now. It started off as a messaging app with the focus being on creating groups and staying in touch with them (set up a group when you’re out at an event or conference, with people you have as contacts and others). It recently got updated with some really neat features, including what they call “Split”. You can track the expenses in each group, or add expenses and have others chip in. It also lets you message people who do not have the app, say, someone without a smartphone. It just sends them a standard text message that they can reply to. GroupMe is meant to be a bit more serious, at least when you compare it to some of the other clients out there. It is owned by Skype after all. Which in turn, is owned by Microsoft.

Pros – Sign in online. Manage and edit groups from any device or from the web. iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry (no bb10) and Web clients. Texts sent to phones that do not have the client. Split – expense tracking and management per group.

Cons – Focus on Group messaging (can’t really be counted as a con though).

Yoke

Yoke is similar to most other messaging apps, with stickers, scribbles (drawings), etc. It also allows you to edit your message if it hasn’t been read yet, and you can edit it upto 5 minutes after it has been read.

Pros – Sign in with phone number. Edit your chat. Avatars, Scribbles.

Cons – iOS and Android only.

Cubie

Cubie is a new entrant to the social messaging field. It tries to focus on the “fun” aspects of messaging, with a lot of features seen in Line, such as stickers, animations, etc. It does have a few unique features though, enabling you to create your own content, of sorts. You can sketch, edit photos, etc.

Pros – Sign in with phone number. Stickers, Create your own sketches, animations, customize the look of your chat.

Cons – iOS and Android only. Account can be used only on one device. Tied to one phone number, you’ll need to create a new account for a new phone number.

Image credit: rido / 123RF Stock Photo

A month after Google Books came to India, Google Play’s Movies has finally reached our shores. Now you can buy or rent movies straight from your Android Phone or tablet. I wouldn’t go start downloading as yet.

Google’s India Movie store currently features both English and Hindi movies, though mostly English movies are featured in the various sections with a few Hindi movies sprinkled here and there. You can search for Hindi movies though.

The prices are also not uniform, you can rent movies from around Rs. 60-80 upwards, and buy them from 150 bucks onwards. Popular  movies can also go to around Rs. 650 for the HD version of the movie. OK. the pricing is way too much for my linking anyway. But if you compare these prices to iTunes’s India pricing, they seem quite comparable with a few rupees off here or there.

Another thing is not all the movies are available for rent. You can either stream the videos or download them to an Android device for offline viewing. There are a few caveats to this service. If you buy a movie, you can download it to a max of five devices, rented movies can only be accessed on one device.

In my opinion, Google (and Apple as well) should take a look at the pricing of their movies if they are looking at mass adoption, at least in the metro areas here. I’m not sure how many people would really end up paying 650 bucks or more for a HD version of the movie.

Head over and check out the service on your device or online at Google Play Movies.

]]> http://myportableworld.com/posts/google-play-movies-lands-in-india-buy-and-rent-videos-on-android/feed/ 0 http://myportableworld.com/posts/google-play-movies-lands-in-india-buy-and-rent-videos-on-android/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/mpwfeed/~3/sZauqMz7Wl0/ http://myportableworld.com/posts/the-death-of-google-reader-and-its-potential-successors/#comments Thu, 28 Mar 2013 13:41:50 +0000 Guest http://myportableworld.com/?p=12487 Google Reader is dead. After seven years of life and in the midst of steadily declining service, Google has pulled...]]>

Google Reader is dead. After seven years of life and in the midst of steadily declining service, Google has pulled the plug on its RSS Reader, which will be fully discontinued at the beginning of June. Many of you will no doubt be disappointed by this, depending on your level of dependence on your RSS feed. But once you’ve managed to get over your initial panic attack, be advised that there are a number of highly functional alternatives to Google Reader to which you can quickly and easily relocate your subscriptions via Google Takeout. Here is a list of some of the possible successors to Google Reader’s throne.

NewsBlur

First up is NewsBlur, which offers a slick interface with a cohesive visual design, to make reading very easy on the eye. It is also mobile friendly, with apps for Android and iOS, for those of you who have already embraced new technology in the tablet vs laptop debate. For those of you into content curation, you can even use NewsBlur to start up your own “BlurBlog” to host and comment on posts to your RSS feed. The major, major downside to this option is that NewsBlur has currently suspended the creation of free accounts due to increased demand, meaning that those who want to take advantage will have to pay for a premium account. This, however, does allow for an unlimitedly large feed, and access to all the site’s features.

iOS Download

NewsBlurNewsBlur, Inc.NewsFreeDownload

Android Download

NewsBlurNewsBlur, Inc.News & MagazinesFreeDownload

Feedly

Next, we have Feedly, which is probably the most likely all-purpose alternative to be adopted en-masse by GR refugees. Feedly has the advantage of being freely available on major platform – web, iOS and Android. It also offers a minimalistic approach similar to GR, but with a few modernisations that will likely appeal immensely to those at the cutting edge. These features include a magazine-style viewing option, the ability to organise parts of your feed into specific folders with different pre-set viewing styles, and a surprising degree of customisability in terms of its overall look. Its biggest advantage is definitely its free and robust mobile apps, which are likely to dominate in a market where Google’s API has vanished, which makes it the perfect alternative for tablet and smartphone users, even if only as a temporary stopgap.

Android Download

Feedly. Google Reader News RSSFeedly TeamNews & MagazinesFreeDownload

iOS Download

Feedly: Your Google Reader, Youtube, Google News, RSS News ReaderDevHDNewsFreeDownload

Flipboard

Flipboard is another contender in this space, which is available on the iOS and Android platforms. A web version is missing here though. It offers a simplified way to navigate through your social and news feeds by just flipping through the items. Even though the mobile experience is good, Flipboard works exceptionally well on tablets with big colourful cover images. You can choose curated topics to subscribe to as well as as individual feeds. Flipboard is also offering a way to migrate your existing Google Reader feeds to their platform.

Android Download

Flipboard: Your News MagazineFlipboardNews & MagazinesFreeDownload

iOS Download

Flipboard: Your Social News MagazineFlipboard Inc.NewsFreeDownload

The Old Reader

A definite one-to-watch comes in the form of The Old Reader. Styling itself “the ultimate social RSS reader”, the Old Reader was created to replicate the style and features of the older version of Google Reader, meaning it is likely to feel very familiar to diehard GR users who have been using the product for a long time. It offers a robust replacement, allowing for a complete RSS experience with highly functional social elements. It is, however, hampered by its present lack of mobile and tablet apps, which may hamstring it at this early stage and prevent it from picking up a huge number of those in the RSS wilderness – at least right now. The Old Reader is still only in a beta stage, and it is definitely worth keeping an eye on its development; once it emerges in its final form, it may offer an experience akin to a much improved version of Google Reader, as its design philosophy suggests.

Others?

Beyond these more promising alternatives, a number of smaller players exist. These include NetNewsWire (a dependable if visually outdated Mac-only app which will currently undergo major redesign in the near future), Pulse (an independent platform which is now offering features to speed the import of your Google Reader subscriptions which also boasts companion mobile apps) and the NetVibes site (which isn’t an RSS reader at all, but a social dashboard utility that can do the job of an RSS reader and is both free and highly functional in its implementation).

And this is just the beginning. Far from Google Reader’s shutdown signalling the end for RSS, this much beloved platform will likely see much expansion and innovation over the coming months. Google Reader, much beloved as it was, had essentially created a situation in which developers were actively being discouraged from making their own RSS back end, which means that several reader apps are now going to be left worryingly adrift unless they can adapt fast. With this monolithic force now gone, developers will be forced to innovate to set themselves apart from the crowd. The future will probably still be dominated by larger and already existing forces, but we can expect much more diversification in terms of smaller specialist apps for more niche markets.

About Author

Joanna Stevenson studied Computer Science in London, and currently works in digital consulting. She enjoys writing tech articles in her free time and aspires to be an intrepid tech and gaming enthusiast

Switching from iPhone to Android is complicated if you don’t know few basic facts. If you are ready to make the switch, start by buying a high-end Android phone which has at least more than 4.3 inch screen, 1.2 GHz dual core processor, and high resolution screen display. Once you have purchased the device, here are few things to follow for making the switch.

1.Optimize Home Screen

Unlike the iPhone where you have to stick to some default icons set to the home screen, you can pay around a lot with Android. Here, you can download and install your favorite apps and set them as home screen icons and swipe them as well. Android features  ‘widgets’ as well as Application shortcuts on it’s home screen, so you can get updates from the apps without actually opening up the app. Getting to know Android will take some time and to make it easier for you, I suggest getting familiar with the Home and Menu buttons. Most of the activities on any Android device are centered on these buttons.

2. Syncing Apps

One of the major drawbacks you will come across during the switch is app incompatibility. Android and iPhone apps are completely incompatible. Therefore, you will lose access to all apps once you switch. You have to download and install them again. So note down the installed apps and re-install them. However, some app developers offer an iPhone and Android version of the same app and if the user data is stored on their servers or the cloud, you will not lose important data.

3. Gmail is Compulsory

Like the new Nokia Lumia series makes Microsoft Outlook email account essential to sync all data, you need to use a Gmail account to use Android. The primary Gmail account will be used to store data and hold your account details including payment methods for paying for apps you’ll buy on Google Play App store. Nevertheless, if you still wish to access emails from non-Gmail accounts, you can do that via IMAP, POP3 or Microsoft Exchange setting. Before switching, finalize the Gmail account you wish to use. Ensure no one else uses it. Lastly, you have to use the same Exchange system to transfer contacts and calendar notes from iPhone to Android.

4. Media Transfer

To transfer pictures, music files and videos, you need to transfer them to your PC via USB connection. Mac users can use the Image Capture tool to backup images. Once done, remove the iPhone device from PC, connect the Android device and transfer all the files. If the device runs on ICS or above, install the Android File Transfer Utility on the Mac to transfer media files. Further, you will also find that the device does not sync with iTunes; therefore, your alternatives would be to use Google Play or Amazon Cloud Player.

5. Transferring SMS and Voice Mail

You can use iSMS2Droid tool to transfer your Text messages from iPhone to your new Android phone. The steps are not too straight forward, but here’s a  link to instructions on how to go about this.

Transferring voice mails is a bit more time consuming. The easiest way is to transfer the voicemails to the forwarding them to your Google mail account and then accessing them on the Android device.

iSMS2droid (iPhone SMS Import)Jan GreweToolsFreeDownload

6. Battery Life

Even though Android is really enjoying popularity, its drawback is its battery life. Some high-end devices do have better battery life but they are not affordable for everyone. Hence, if you want to save on battery, I recommend you to switch off 4G, Wi-Fi and GPS when not in use. If you are not using social media accounts, disable them. You can enable them again with just a tap.

7. Android App Store

After the switch, say bye-bye to Apple app store. The Android device will use Google Play as its default app market. You can still search, download and install from alternate marketplaces if you enable the option, but it is risky and you should install virus protection software before downloading from other app stores.
Making the switch from iPhone to Android will take some time but don’t you worry. Just follow the above pointers.

Author Bio:

Sanjeev Kumar is very passionate to write about latest technology like iPhone, Android and Windows Phone. He is the part of Indianprice.com - a product discovery and price comparison website that provides a great way to find best prices of products across multiple shopping. Also, indianprice.com a great destination to read news and reviews about latest gadgets and technologies.

Find Sanjeev Kumar on Google Plus and Twitter.

Image credit: seenivas / 123RF Stock Photo

It looks like ClearTrip has finally updated their Android app with all the goodies which their iOS app has had for months now. Their latest version for Android, which is a Native app now,  has their famous – two-column split screen when booking return trips on their phone. We fell in love with this approach when we had reviewed the Cleartrip iPhone app earlier.

The good part of the app is that when you are selecting your flight options, you can get to see how your choices affect the cost of your trip all in one screen. This makes searching and finding different travel options a breeze on the mobile.

You can also filter the flight results based on criteria like your preferred airlines, whether you want non-stop flights and departure and arrival times. Once you have your trip itinerary all selected, you can use your Credit Card, Debit Card or Netbanking account to go book your tickets.

The Cleartrip app also gives you quick access to  all the trips (upcoming and past) which you’ve booked  though your Cleartrip account.   Here’s a full list of features now supported in Cleartrip for Android:

• Flights within India: Book domestic flights using our unique split-screen layout to select and price your flights with just two taps.
• International flights: The only two-column layout on mobile to combine inbound and outbound international flights without overloading your senses.
• Recent searches: Access all your recent searches with just one touch.
• All your booked trips: Access your trips and bookings on your mobile, even when you’re offline.
• Expressway: One-touch flight bookings on your phone.
• Payment options: Pay using your credit card, debit card or net banking.
• Saved travellers: Your saved travellers are on your mobile too. No need to type names again and again

Download Cleartrip for Android

CleartripCleartripTravel & LocalFreeDownload

A few days ago, Android Police reported that Google might be releasing a Note taking app called Keep. It “kinda” went live and finally, it’s out. What is it? Think Evernote or Springpad or Catch Notes. Now make it simpler, remove the sorting, add in Google Drive Sync and integration, and you get keep. It looks nice and seems to work well (it better, it’s simple). Right now, it’s available for the web and for Android (Play Store Link). Hopefully, it’ll be available on more platforms soon. I really hope Google launches a Google Tasks app, or integrates Google Tasks with Keep.
There has been quite a bit of backlash on the internet though, mainly because of Google Readers impending demise and people have started questioning how long Google will let Keep run before taking it down.

Here’s the introduction video from Google:

This is the post from the Official Google Blog:

Every day we all see, hear or think of things we need to remember. Usually we grab a pad of sticky-notes, scribble a reminder and put it on the desk, the fridge or the relevant page of a magazine. Unfortunately, if you’re like me you probably often discover that the desk, fridge or magazine wasn’t such a clever place to leave the note after all…it’s rarely where you need it when you need it.

To solve this problem we’ve created Google Keep. With Keep you can quickly jot ideas down when you think of them and even include checklists and photos to keep track of what’s important to you. Your notes are safely stored in Google Drive and synced to all your devices so you can always have them at hand.

If it’s more convenient to speak than to type that’s fine—Keep transcribes voice memos for you automatically. There’s super-fast search to find what you’re looking for and when you’re finished with a note you can archive or delete it.

Changing priorities isn’t a problem: just open Keep on your Android phone or tablet (there’s a widget so you can have Keep front and center all the time) and drag your notes around to reflect what matters. You can choose the color for each note too.

Pro tip: for adding thoughts quickly without unlocking your device there’s a lock screen widget (on devices running Android 4.2+).

Google Keep is available on Google Play for devices running Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich and above. You can access, edit and create new notes on the web at http://drive.google.com/keep and in the coming weeks you’ll be able to do the same directly from Google Drive.

Google KeepGoogle Inc.ProductivityFreeDownload

A lot of Windows Phone users are still waiting patiently for Instagram to be launched on Windows Phone 8. There are also quite a lot of rumors (new and old) floating around for quite a while about the arrival of Instagram for Windows phone.

Instead of just sitting around and waiting, Nokia has launched a new novel way to campaign for Instagram for Windows Phone. They’ve just released an app on the Windows Phone store called #2InstaWithLove. The app allows you to take or choose an existing photo, add a Polaroid filter (yes, just one) and share that on your Social Network with the hashtag #2InstaWithLove. The photos get uploaded to a Nokia owned site, and the link to that is shared with your friends. Here’s one I uploaded with the app.

Their app description says it all:
The app allows you to take a photo using the classic polaroid filter and automatically adds the hashtag #2InstaWithLove. It’s all about showing Instagram just how passionate the Windows Phone community is – so be creative, have fun and be sure to share your favorite photos with us using a social network of your choice.

So get the app, and start sharing if you want to petition for Instagram on Windows Phone! Head to #2InstaWithLove on the Windows Phone store to download the app, or scan the QR code below with Bing Vision on your phone to get the app.

Nokia India has introduced a new micro-site called the Switch Hub, which gets you all the information required for you to switch to the Nokia Lumia 920. If you are thinking of getting the Lumia 920, head over to Nokia India’s Switch Hub page, and get all the info you need in the form of Videos tips and you can “Ask Sid” your question to get information about the Lumia 920′s wireless charging capabilities, navigation, entertainment, connectivity and more.

The Switch Hub also allows potential buyers to search for the nearest store to pick up a shiny new Lumia 920 as well. You can also check out their Facebook Page, where you can get more videos and customer testimonials as well.

I was introduced to Nomad by a friend and ever since being the travel enthusiast that I am, hooked on to it! The travel app is released as a beta version which provides information about places to travel around Bangalore. According to Mink 7, the app developers, they plan to open the platform to users so that they can crowd-source new location content from travel enthusiasts using their app.

What I love about the app is its easy-to-use navigation, pleasing design and colours, beautiful pictures, well thought of filters, glitch free operation, a link to maps & driving directions and above all the range of places covered! And to think I’d seen most places around!

What prompted the app developers to spend time and build this app? Harsha M.V. from Mink 7 has the answer to that, “Being an Travel enthusiast and foodie we travel far and wide in search for adventure and food. Having run a 8750+ Bakasura community for close to two years. We are looking to exploring food outside the city as well – resulting in weekend trips to places like Mysore, Mangalore, Udupi, Ambur for food. We wanted a handy source to help us plan our trip and found that the existing solutions are incomplete and are more of hobby projects. So we went ahead and build our solution which turned out to be very helpful for our friends and family as well. Having Experience in Product Development and particularly User Experience and Design we were sure we can stand out from day one.”

About opening their travel app to other locations and how they plan on getting location information, Harsha said, “Food and Travel is something most of the masses love to indulge in and we are sure that crowd sourcing the content wont be hard. We are trying to figure out the most effective way to do the same. Once our Platform will go live and we will be a global app not just other parts of India. We see that France, US, Spain, China are the most visited Countries in the world year on year.”

While its not perfect yet, it certainly can get there soon and with that belief here are a few additions I can think of, introduce ratings by users (provisions to include user comments/photos), include more filters (user rating, kid friendly, elderly friendly/wheelchair access, best time to visit with a month-wise selection choice) and provide more information (hotels/lodges, public transport, food).

Also, having travelled around a bit, I see a few key places are missing and it would be a good idea to add them right away – Bannerghatta national park, Mysore, Bylakuppe monastery, Chitradurga fort, Puttaparthi, Chikmagalur, Mangalore & around, Pondicherry, Coimbatore, Mahabalipuram, Kodaikanal, Pattadkal, Badami, Mantralaya, Karwar, Udupi and Srirangapatna.

All said, its going to be my one stop solution for a quite a few weekends from now…long drives here I come! Thank you Nomad for making it more interesting & easier to travel around namma Bengaluru.

Strongly recommend this to every Bengaluru local/ visitor – a MUST HAVE

Download Link:

Nomad - Weekend GetawayMink 7Travel & LocalFreeDownload

Screenshots From Nomad Travel App:

Author Bio:

“Oormila is a self confessed gadget freak with an eye for photography and the adage that bigger is always better”. Follow her on LinkedIn.

Lawyers are the kind of professionals that are always low on time and high on demand. They need to sort out a lot their work on the go, keeping deadlines, creating documents and researching cases simultaneously. Meanwhile, they also need to keep a track of the standard laws and the amendments being made in them from time to time. Arranging client details in order and managing research material becomes quite a messy work. In regards with these issues, lawyers can resort to the use of various smartphone applications available in the market these days. Almost all of us now use smartphones, so this list here of all the top mobile applications for lawyers can be pretty useful.

1. Black’s Law Dictionary

Lawyers have to use a lot of books and reference materials constantly to look up a lot of articles, laws and legal issues. Carrying all this stuff everywhere is of course impossible, but it is darned much essential for every lawyer looking to make a mark. This is where the Black’s Law Dictionary mobile application comes in extremely handy. With technologies aid, lawyers can now have this supremely exhaustive and comprehensive piece of Thomson Reuters reference guide with them at all times.

Black's Law Dictionary, 9th EditionWest, a ThomsonReference$ 54.99Download

2. Evernote

Evernote is undoubtedly the best mobile application out there for effective and efficient note taking without much fuss or delay. For people who want to organize, store and sync their data on the mobile (especially Lawyers who need their legal documents and research well organized), this application is a boon. Even though, it requires you to pay a monthly charge for the subscription for its full advantage, it is undeniably well worth it.

EvernoteEvernoteProductivityFreeDownload

3. Dropbox

Dropbox is easily one of the “must-have” applications on your mobile – for the sole reason that you can access any of your files on the cloud from anywhere, on your mobile. Any important files, documents or research papers can be uploaded on the Dropbox cloud and then accessed from anywhere on your mobile. This reduces the risk of losing the files from your database as well as helps you share these files and documents with anyone using Dropbox extremely easily.

DropboxDropboxProductivityFreeDownload

4. LawRD

This is the most essential mobile application for lawyers as well as law firms in regards with the Financial Management goes in the legal terms. LawRD essentially helps you estimate and measure the Return on Investment with immense proficiency. It provides you with a timesheet to keep records of your expenses, has detailed billing sheets to help you bill your clients on time and lets you know the profitability and productivity of a case instantly. A definite must.

LawRDmuchBetaProductivityFreeDownload

5. iJuror

Jury is considered to be an extremely vital cog in the judicial system today, and iJuror is one of those rare applications which lets you observe and choose the perfect jury members. It gives you effective methods of monitoring potential jurors while enabling you to take due notes at the same time. It has features to make sharing your thoughts and opinions with other lawyers too. It does come with a cost of $19.99, but then it’s a darned good investment to make.

iJurorScott FalboBusiness$ 19.99Download

6. Fastcase

When it won the American Association of Law Libraries New Product of the Year Award, you knew that Fastcase was undoubtedly the mobile application everybody had praised and revered. Also, if you have used the desktop version of this wonderful application, getting it on mobile would only make better sense. It is essentially a web-based legal research application that lets you sort and customize the search results according to your needs and necessities. This one should be in every list of top mobile apps for lawyers.

FastcaseFastcaseReferenceFreeDownload

Pacebutler is one of the best cell phone recycling companies. Click here to check it out. Pacebutler’s outbound customer outreach number is 4057553131.

Image credit: lucadp / 123RF Stock Photo

Finally Microsoft has announced that Photosynth is now officially available for WP8 users through the Windows Phone Store. For those of you who haven’t yet tried it or know about the app are advised to first go download it!

 The app allows you to create immersive panorama spheres which you can later explore by scrolling both sides and even up and down. It’s almost like being there. The best part is that it’s quite easy to capture the photo. All you need to do is to keep moving your camera around and up and down to capture the entire scene, while the app guides you and auto clicks the scene. Once you’ve captured the entire site, the app stitches up the entire scene allows you to preview it and save it to your phone. You can then share it from there with your friends through Facebook, Twitter and Email. To give you an idea of how the final image comes, here’s one I captured quite a while back with Photosynth.

Do keep in mind that Photosynth like most panorama captures work well when you’re not trying to capture very near by objects, but from a distance.

The Photosynth blog also mentions that the new features for Windows Phone 8 are:

• Camera lens integration – Quickly capture and view panoramas by launching Photosynth directly from the built-in camera app
• View shared panoramas – View panoramas shared with you via email, Facebook, or Twitter directly on your mobile device
• More camera controls – Adjust for various lighting conditions by using new exposure and white balance locking options

Download Link

PhotosynthMicrosoft CorporationphotoFreeDownload

via: Photosynth Blog

The app wakes you up with images of bright blue summer skies, energizing tunes and an inspiring quote. Once you’re up, hopefully in a better mood, you can also share the quotes with your friends on Facebook and Twitter.

The alarm is quite simple to set up, at the same time allows you the options to choose the wake up tunes, snooze settings and days you’d want to alarm to go off on, all in a simple to use screen.

What really pulled our interest to this app, Henry Kurtze, the man behind the app is a medical student and designed the app, being a non-developer. Here’s what Henry had to say about the medical rationale behind the Blue Summer Skies wake up screen, “My medical studies lead me to include the animated blue sky background. Bright, blue sky can boost our circadian rhythm through a conditioned response.”

We did have a short Q&A with Henry about the app, what went behind the app and his future plans, which we’ve also included as part of this app review. You jump to that by clicking here. You can also see a quick video if the app features right after the download link below.

Day Dreams retails for $0.99 on the iTunes Store and is available internationally.

Download Day Dreams

DayDream - Alarm ClockHenry KurtzeHealth & FitnessFreeDownload

Demo Video

Q&A with the App Developer

MPW: We hear that you’re a medical student. What inspired you to create DayDream?

Henry: I was inspired to create DayDream because I know the importance of a passionate and creative morning. Our morning sets up our day, and by extension, sets up the way our life will unfold. So with that in mind I tried to create an App that simplifies and enhances the morning routine.

My medical studies lead me to include the animated blue sky background. Bright, blue sky can boost our circadian rhythm through a conditioned response. The science aside, I couldn’t find a stunning, minimalist alarm clock so I created one. That also sends you a beautiful quote to start the day.

MPW: Did you pickup iOS coding to create this app and how long did it take you to create DayDream?

Henry: I was completely new to this area. But I had passion and purpose. And that was enough to get me through. I started work on DayDream 3 months ago. I am working as a solo developer. I worked on concept, design and marketing.

I did not do the coding for the application. However I am going to undertake a course to help me understand the process for my next project. I find it to be challenging and fascinating and magnetic. I love to be in control, and so learning to code will be inevitable. The process has been immensely hard and immensely satisfying. I cannot wait to work on my next App.

MPW: What are your future plans? Create more apps in your free time, improve the existing app?

Henry: My plans for the future are energetic and diverse. I have currently taken one year off my medical studies and relocated to Denmark. For any project in the future I would prefer to assemble a team, because working as solo developer slightly disrupts life balance and circadian rhythms. I am currently editing a short film and starting work on a book that will explore health from a collective point of view. As for Apps I have been holding onto a larger project idea that I will commence this year. I will not go into details but it will be a global non-profit App. That might just change the world. At least a little.

We’re looking forward to seeing what Henry & Color Vision Apps has up it’s sleeve for their next app venture and wish them all the best!

Screenshots from the App

Download Link

Here’s the download link for the App, in case you missed the one above:

DayDream - Alarm ClockHenry KurtzeHealth & FitnessFreeDownload

For us mortals, Google has released a video showing us how our world would look if we were wearing Google Glasses. The experiences in the video sure look like fun, especially augmented with the functionality of the glasses. Taking photos and videos without having to whip out a phone and fumble around. Send messages or look up information from the web via voice, and instant translations. Enjoy the video.
 
 

“Multi-tasking productivity meets elegance and rigorous security in our tablet experience,” said Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Ubuntu and Canonical. “Our family of interfaces now scales across all screens, so your phone can provide tablet, PC and TV experiences when you dock it. That’s unique to Ubuntu and it’s the future of personal computing.”

Key Features of Ubuntu for Tablets

Ubuntu’s for tablet interface supports screen sizes from 6 inches upwards to 20 inches. Now who’d be waking around with a 20 inch tablet in their pockets, I don’t know. They also support screen resolutions from 100 – 450 pixels per inch. Ubuntu also provides proper multi-user account for the tablet, including a Guest mode, allowing you to share your tablet without worrying about other’s playing around with your personal emails and social network updates.  Here what Canonical’s press release mentions about the other key features of this new platform for tablets:

• Real multitasking: Uniquely, Ubuntu allows a phone app on the screen at the same time as a tablet app. The Ubuntu side stage was invented both to enable efficient multitasking and to improve the usability of phone apps on tablets.
• Secure multi-user: Multiple accounts on one tablet with full encryption for personal data, combined with the trusted Ubuntu security model that is widely used in banks, governments and sensitive environments, making it ideal for work and family use.
• Voice controlled HUD productivity: The Heads-Up Display, unique to Ubuntu, makes it fast and easy to do complex things on touch devices, and transforms touch interfaces for rich applications, bringing all the power of the PC to your tablet.
• Edge magic for cleaner apps: Screen edges are used for navigation between apps, settings and controls. That makes for less clutter, more content, and sleeker hardware. No physical or soft buttons are required. It’s pure touch elegance.
• Content focus: Media is neatly presented on the customisable home screen, which can search hundreds of sources. Perfect for carriers and content owners that want to highlight their own content, while still providing access to a global catalogue.
• Full convergence: The tablet interface is presented by exactly the same OS and code that provides the phone, PC and TV interfaces, enabling true device convergence. Ubuntu is uniquely designed to scale smoothly across all form factors.

Touch Developer Preview to be released on 21st Feb

Canonical also announced that they’d be released the Touch Developer Preview of Ubuntu on the 21st of February, with instructions on how to install it on the Nexus 7 and 10 tablets along with Android Phones like the Nexus 4 and Galaxy Nexus. Being a long time Ubuntu user on my desktop, I can’t wait to get my hands on this tomorrow.

If you’re lucky enough to be visiting Mobile World Congress, you can also head over to Ubuntu’s booth and get Ubuntu on your devices.

You can get more information on Ubuntu for Tablets over at their site.

Ubuntu for Tablets Video

Here’s a video with Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth explain Ubuntu for tablets and what it offers industry partners.

HTC hasn’t been having a good time of late. They’ve made good products, designed quite well with good build quality, but they just haven’t taken off. They had committed to streamlining their product portfolio in 2012, which they haven’t really stuck to (One X, One X+, One S, One V, One SV, etc). Well, they’ve now announced the new flagship One for 2013, and it’s called just the HTC One.

Here’s what the spec sheet looks like:

Processor:  Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 600, quad-core, 1.7GHz
Display: 4.7″ 1080p LCD
Storage: 32GB/64GB, No Expansion Slots, 2 GB RAM
Connectivity: WiFi a/b/g/n/AC, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC,  Quadband GSM, Quadband HSPA, DLNA, WiFi Direct
Software: Android 4.1.2 with the New HTC Sense
Imaging: HTC’s “UltraPixel” Camera, F2.0, 28mm lens, 1080p video with all the additional Sense features such as capturing full resolution images while recording video and HTC Zoe mode. 2.1 MP Front Facing Camera
Battery: 2300 mAh, Non Removable

It’s an aluminium uni-body device and if it’s anything like the One Xs Polycarbonate build, it’s something to look forward to, look and feel-wise at least. They’ve revamped HTC Sense too. Gone are the 3D widgets and transitions, with HTC Blink replacing one of the home screens (you should be able to remove it if you don’t want it). HTC Blink is a curated list of news and social updates, based on sources that you pick or you could just let HTC create a curated list for you.

The other thing that HTC has been harping about is the new camera. They’re calling it the “UltraPixel” camera. It’s a BSI Sensor with a resolution of 4MP, which has larger photosites, which technically allows for more light to be captured. It also has Optical Image Stabilization. We’ll have to wait and find out if it does any image oversampling like the Nokia 808 Pureview and if the OIS is as capable as the system used in the Lumia 920 (or even close to it).

It should be available soon, check the HTC Press Release for a list of all the countries and operators that will be carrying it. There’s no official word on pricing for India as yet.

Will this be the One for HTC? Will it really help turn the company around? We’ll know soon enough, but as was the case with the One X (read our review here), there is the looming spectre of the new Galaxy S device (as was the case with the One X before this).

You can check out more images and videos of the HTC one over at the Product Page, here.

You can read the full Press Release, here.

Yesterday, after a lot of WiFi tethering and heavy use of the Lumia 920, the phone finally hung on me. On my drive back home, the device seemed to try restart on it’s own and got stuck in the startup screen with the Nokia Logo. I couldn’t do anything much while driving to get the device back in operation.

Once I got back, I tried the regular method of trying to shutdown the phone by keeping the power button pressed, but that didn’t help even after keeping the button pressed for a long time. After some googling, i found that the Windows Phone equivalent of Ctrl+Alt+Del  is actually Volume Down and Power button.

So to restart your non-responsive Windows Phone device, all you need to do is to simultaneously press the Volume Down and the Power button, and keep it pressed till you see the phone shut down or you feel the phone vibrate quickly a few times. You can then release the buttons and then press the power button to start  the phone again.

via Microsoft Support

Davor’s Android-powered oven was the definitive centrepoint for Android-powered home automation gear. A 30-inch built-in oven combined with an Android companion app lets you pick your meal from a recipe card, and have the oven adjust its timings and temperatures instantly.

Described by PCMag as a “game changer for novice chefs”, the companion app allows you to pick and choose types of food (even allowing for weight and density), desired consistencies and the time you’re planning on being at table. If there’s a problem, the app will inform you instantly. A luxury steal at $4,499.

Chinese consumer goods manufacturer Hisense brought their own angle on Android-powered home automation to this year’s CES. Packing both a fridge and air conditioner, Hisense were one of many home automation enterprises pushing the energy-saving potential of fully integrated smart gear. LG are pushing a washer, dryer and smart fridge on the same platform.

All of this centralised automation equipment comes just as top-end manufacturers are introducing automation management devices. Lenovo pushed out the K900 smartphone, the world’s first Intel Clover Trail+ device, with Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. It’s smaller, thinner and lighter than its predecessor – the K800 – which might just make it perfectly-suited to carrying around at all times to control virtually anything in the home. LG’s washer will even let you know your laundry’s done if you’re out.

As Phil Nickinson, editor for Android Central, makes clear: 2013 is only just beginning. CES is exciting, glitzy and impressive, but it’s only the start of the year. This year, then, looks to be the year of home automation. Android, with its wide developer community, broad device compatibility and low-cost development framework, seems to be the OS of choice in creating the Internet of Things. What do we think we’ll be seeing later down the line?

About the Guest Author:

This article is written by Louise Miller. Louise graduated from LSE in 2011 with an MA in engineering and is now working as a freelance web designer. She loves blogging about tech and social media in her free time, especially all things Android.

Wordament is a simple enough game to start off with. You are presented with a 4 by 4 grid of alphabet tiles and you have to find words by sliding your fingers over letters which are adjacent to each other. Check the image below to see how the Game tiles look. Just moving your fingers over the letters PARING, selects and adds the word to the your list of words which you found.

Oh. Did I mention yet that you have just Two minutes to find as many words as you can? Wordament is also a real-time game which means players around the world are competing to find as many words as they can within that two minute time window. It’s quite easy to find around 10-15 words per game, but then that’s below par, since most of the times have upwards of 200 words which you can find with in the grid, some of the being real obscure words as well.

As soon as the time is up, you can then look at how many words you found, and how many you missed out on and tapping on the words in the list of words you didn’t find, shows you how you could have made those words on the grid. After that, you are taken to the word score screen, where the app shows you where you stand among all the other players online.

Being a Microsoft Xbox game, you can also sign in with your Xbox creds both on the Windows Phone and iOS versions of the app and have your achievements uploaded to your XBox account. It’s also free, so if you have a few minutes to spare, go get it. Fingers crossed that you don’t get addicted to the game like I did. Download links are available for Windows Phone and iOS right after a few tips to help you score better.

Wordament Tips for Scoring:

Just playing the game straight up may not help you get the best of scores, or the number of words you can find. Here are a few tips to help you score better and come higher up on the world ranking:

• Check the top of the tiles to see if there are any “Themes” for the game. Finding words based on those themes get you extra points.
• If you get to a point where you can seem to find any more words, touch the rotate icon at the botton right of the screen to rotate the tiles. Believe me this helps finding those extra words you missed out on.
• Two minutes is not a lot of time. Once you are immersed in the game, you’ll find yourself easily running out of time, so lock in those finds as soon as possible.
• Words with uncommon letters like (U,W,X, Z, Y) get you more points, so try finding as many words with these letters as you can.
• Find plurals of the words. In the grid above – RAT, RATS, RATE, RATES are all scoring words so get them all!

If you have more tips on how to score better on Wordament, do let us know by leaving a comment.

Download Links:

Windows Phone Store:

WordamentMicrosoft Studios™gamesFreeDownload

iTunes App Store:

WordamentMicrosoftGamesFreeDownload

Rescube is an addictive puzzle solving game which can keep you occupied during those daily commutes or while waiting for a friend to turn up. Gameshastra, the developers of the app had initially launched this game on the iTunes store  in November last year and have quickly followed up by releasing the Android version of the game.

The main objective of the game is to get  Gisu, the ‘cute little’ alien, to the required parts to repair his ship. You can help Gisu by moving around the blocks so that Gisu has a clear path to be reunited with the ship’s spare parts. You get extra points if you manage to do this in the least number of moves. The least number of moves gets you a 3 star level complete achievement. If you don’t manage to get 3 stars, check the end-of-level screen and the number of moves you took vs the “Best Moves”, which is the minimum which you have to aim for when you replay the level.

The paid version offers over 50 levels of puzzles for you to solve, without the ad nags, which gives you quite a lot of gameplay time. You can also revisit levels to better your score by increasing your star score per game, giving some amount of replay value to the game. The Paid versions of the game on both platfroms also don’t cost much just $0.99 (or around Rs. 50). So take the free (ad-supported)version  for a spin to get a hang of the game and then go Ad-free and get the paid version, it doesn’t cost much!

You can brag about your achievements by posting these to your friends on Twitter and Facebook. iOS users also get their achievements posted to their Game Center. For a quick game trailer, check out the video after the download links:

Download Links:

Android Market:

Rescube: Planet Escape FreeGameshastraIndiaBrain & PuzzleFreeDownload

Rescube: Planet EscapeGameshastraIndiaBrain & Puzzle$0.99Download

iTunes App Store (for iPhone, iPad and iPod):

Rescube: Planet Escape LiteGameshastra Inc.GamesFreeDownload

Rescube: Planet EscapeGameshastra Inc.Games$ 0.99Download

Game Trailer:

Using an Android device and searching for business apps can ease your tight schedule to make your work easy and reduce strain. The Android market is filled with many business apps. So, we are giving you some useful business apps that support you.

File manager: This application allows you to customize or arrange your folder, files and desktop. This app has three sets of images and solves multiple issues. Users who find this app should have prior knowledge and then should go for this app.

Quick Office Pro: This helps people who constantly use Excel, Word, and power point. By using this app, users can edit and open documents, spread sheets and presentations. We can use PDF file as well. We can resize, delete and move using this app. You can also store your files on cloud storage.

Divide: Bring your own gadgets to the organizations in a secure way by splitting work into personal and office sections. Dividing the work into encrypted form on gadget devices allows business people to access their contact, emails and so on.
IT professional maintains data control and security; Data can be erased in the absence of the employee. Other employees can’t access your personal data; it can be accessed by the mobile owner .This application is available for free.

Google Drive: Using this app, we can store documents, photos and videos. We can access and share from one place. You can upload files directly on Google drive from your gadget and you can share it with your friends.

Business people can use this app especially for presentations, office documents and PDF files. This app allows users to store upto 5GB.When we are sharing our documents, other people can also edit the file on real time. This app is completely free to download.

Bump: To use this app we need two smart phone owners because it’s easy and quick to transfer data. Before transferring the data, users need to confirm that they want to share the data. This app can be used on networking events because it easy to share mails. They can become friends on Facebook and it is completely free to download.

Adobe Reader: To share PDF files on an android device, user’s use this app. Users can access and manage PDF files. We can fill application forms online and sign electronically. You can store all your PDF files on cloud. You can edit files using this app like strike through, underline, highlight, add text, and comment.

About the Guest Author:
My name is Claudia. I am a tech writer from UK. I am into Finance. At present I am focusing on ppi claims . Catch me @financeport

Photo Credit: iStockPhoto

The Hardware

At the center of NVIDIA’s Project SHIELD is their brand new NVIDIA Tegra 4 mobile processor, which delivers enormous power from its custom 72-core GeForce GPU and the first quad-core application of ARM’s latest generation CPU core, the Cortex-A15. These, combined with its battery-saver core and energy-saving PRISM 2 technology, deliver hours of unparalleled gameplay on a single charge.

Project SHIELD’s integrated 5-inch, 1280×720 HD multi-touch display, with 294 dpi provides brilliant gameplay and video. Plus, Tegra 4 with Direct Touch technology gives it touch responsiveness that is a more consistent, accurate and smooth-flowing touch input experience than a standard touch device.

Deep, rich audio is critical for a great gaming experience. And Project SHIELD brings fidelity and dynamic range unseen before on a portable device, through its custom, bass reflex, tuned port audio system – with twice the low-frequency output of high-end laptops.

Gaming

Windows and Android are the world’s most successful computing platforms, with massive ecosystems of system and software developers. While not specifically designed for gaming, both open platforms have drawn gamers by the millions. What will set Project SHIELD apart from any other handheld gaming system is that it is designed to allow them to enjoy Android and Windows games in a new, exciting way. Project SHIELD can instantly download Android games, including Android-optimized titles available on NVIDIA’s TegraZone™ game store, which has already delivered more than 6 million downloads to gamers. It can also be used as a wireless game receiver to a nearby PC equipped with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 GPU or higher.

Project SHIELD flawlessly plays both Android and PC titles. As a pure Android device, it gives access to any game on Google Play. And as a wireless receiver and controller, it can stream games from a PC powered by NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX GPUs, accessing titles on its STEAM game library from anywhere in the home.

And the rest

Project SHIELD can also access Android apps such as Hulu, Netflix and Slacker Radio, so users can enjoy their movies and music anywhere without expensive, clumsy wired or wireless speakers.

NVIDIA is yet to announce a price for getting your hands on Project SHIELD but it is expected to be available in Q2 of this year.

You can see more of Project SHIELD at NVIDIA’s official page or watch the video below.

CES  2013 is in full flow and there are more things being announced than can be followed. There were a few really cool things that stood out from the usual crowd of TVs and Phones announced. One of them is Globatrac’s Trakdot.

It’s a simple concept that could be invaluable for frequent travellers (especially if you’re stuck flying Airlines that keep losing your baggage). It’s got a GSM radio and two AA Batteries. All you need to do is place it in your bag (or bags) and you can track it via the website or from their iOS and Android Apps. It’ll let you know if you’re luggage has arrived at the same location, or it could notify you as to where it is. It’ll also alert you when you’re within 30ft of your bags. For $49.99 (along with a $8.99 activation fee and a $12.99 Annual service fee), it’s something that’s a must have for frequent travellers. Check out their website for more details.

Source: The Verge  Image Credit: Ubergizmo

“The Internet of Things Consortium is a non-profit organization with the mission of facilitating cooperation between hardware, software, and service providers. The IoT Consortium is primarily focused on those Internet enabled devices and related software services that directly touch consumers in the form of home automation, entertainment, and productivity…” says the newly formed website of the Internet of Things Consortium.

Active Mind Technologies, BASIS Science, Coin, Kease, Logitech, MOVL, Ouya, Poly-Control, SmartThings and Ube are members of the newly formed consortium and has just been announced at CES. Apart from Logitech and Kickstarter favorite Ouya, most of the members are lesser known startups.

The infographic below provides a visual representation of the increase in “things” connected to the Internet.

image source: Cisco

Nvidia today announced their latest mobile processor the Tegra 4, which will soon be powering our latest smartphones this year. Even though the press release below has more details, we though we’ll outline what the Tegra 4 has to offer in more simplified language.

The Tegra 4 processor is a Quad core processor with 72 custom GPU cores, what this translates to is 4 times more graphic cruching power on this CPU compared to Nvidia’s Tegra 3 processors. This should translate to smoother apps and more graphic intensive gaming experiences on Tablets and phones. More graphic capabilities also translates to your gadgets being able to play even higher resolution movies.

The Tegra 4 also allows your phones to take HDR photos in a jiffy, since the processor itself can handle all the computation required to create these kind of snaps. This also allows the device to allow you to get a  live HDR preview before taking your snap. Earlier HDR was a hit and miss photography technique, where you could see the results of the snap only once you take it. Devices running the Tegra 4 can now allow you to get a live HDR preview before even taking a snap. How cool is that?

Nvidia also claims that all this raw computation power won’t take too much toll on your device’s battery. The new processor up to 45% less juice from your batteries compared to their Tegra 3 processors which means that a device running on this processor could allow you to view videos for 14 straight hours!

Let’s wait and watch for announcements on which smartphones are going to be shipping this processor this year. Here’s the Press Release from Nvidia with more details of the Tegra 4 processor.

Press Release

NVIDIA Introduces World’s Fastest Mobile Processor

Tegra 4 Features 72 Custom GPU Cores, Quad-Core Cortex-A15 CPU for Superb Performance and Efficiency; LTE Enabled with Optional Chipset

LAS VEGAS—CES—Jan. 7, 2013—NVIDIA today introduced NVIDIA® Tegra® 4, the world’s fastest mobile processor, with record-setting performance and battery life to flawlessly power smartphones and tablets, gaming devices, auto infotainment and navigation systems, and PCs.

Tegra 4 offers exceptional graphics processing, with lightning-fast web browsing, stunning visuals and new camera capabilities through computational photography.

Previously codenamed “Wayne,” Tegra4 features 72 custom NVIDIA GeForce™ GPU cores–or six times the GPU horsepower of Tegra 3 – which deliver more realistic gaming experiences and higher resolution displays. It includes the first quad-core application of ARM’s most advanced CPU core, the Cortex-A15, which delivers 2.6x faster web browsing and breakthrough performance for apps.

Tegra 4 also enables worldwide 4G LTE voice and data support through an optional chipset, the fifth-generation NVIDIA Icera® i500 processor. More efficient and 40 percent the size of conventional modems, i500 delivers four times the processing capability of its predecessor.

“Tegra 4 provides enormous processing power and efficiency to power smartphones and tablets, gaming devices, auto systems and PCs,” said Phil Carmack, senior vice president of the Tegra business at NVIDIA. ”Its new capabilities, particularly in the area of computational photography, will help improve a whole range of existing products and lead to the creation of exciting new ones.”

Computational Photography Capability

Among the Tegra 4 processor’s breakthroughs is its Computational Photography Architecture, which automatically delivers high dynamic range (HDR) photos and video by fusing together the processing power of the GPU, CPU and the camera’s image-signal processor.

Its HDR capability captures images, including those taken with a flash, the way they are seen by the human eye – with detail in both bright and dark areas.

Unprecedented Power Efficiency

Designed for maximum energy efficiency, Tegra 4 includes a second-generation battery saver core for low power during standard use, and PRISM 2 Display technology to reduce backlight power while delivering superior visuals.

Tegra 4 consumes up to 45 percent less power than its predecessor, Tegra 3, in common use cases. And it enables up to 14 hours of HD video playback on phones.

Tegra 4 Key Features

• GeForce GPU with 72 custom cores
• Quad-core ARM Cortex-A15 CPU, plus a 2^nd Generation Battery Saver Core
• Computational Photography Architecture
• LTE capability with optional Icera i500 chipset
• 4K ultra-high-def video support

Useful Links

www.nvidia.com/tegra
www.tegrazone.com

About NVIDIA

NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) awakened the world to computer graphics when it invented the GPU in 1999. Today, its processors power a broad range of products from smartphones to supercomputers. NVIDIA’s mobile processors are used in cell phones, tablets and auto infotainment systems. PC gamers rely on GPUs to enjoy spectacularly immersive worlds. Professionals use them to create 3D graphics and visual effects in movies and to design everything from golf clubs to jumbo jets. And researchers utilize GPUs to advance the frontiers of science with high performance computing.The company has more than 5,000 patents issued, allowed or filed, including ones covering ideas essential to modern computing. For more information, see www.nvidia.com.

The long wait for the Nokia Lumia 920 in India is almost over. It looks like Mobigyaan has published a screenshot of what is supposedly a chat with a Nokia Customer Care Executive who’s mentioned that the Nokia Lumia 920 and the 820 is to be launched in India on the 11th of January, just a few days away.

We’ve also got an invite for an event on the 10th of January, which doesn’t spell out what it’s supposed to be, but the title of the invite –  ”Are you ready to Switch” does drop a strong hint. Putting two and two together, there’s a very strong possibility of the Indian launch happening this week. Let’s see if their new range of Lumia phones running on Windows Phone 8 can take help them gain their Indian marketshare.

We’ll keep you updated as things unfold, so keep and eye out on out Twitter feed (@myportableworld) on 11th Jan (this Thursday) for the latest updates from Nokia India’s event. If you haven’t yet read about the Nokia Lumia 920, head to our older post on the Nokia Lumia 920 for details.